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THE  BROSS  LIBRARY 


Volume  I 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


LECTURES 

,  BEFORE 

THE  LOWELL  INSTITUTE, 

REVISED  AS  A  TEXT-BOOK 


■WITH  A  SUPPLEMENTARY  CHAPTER  CONSIDERING  SOME  ATTACKS  ON  THE 
CRITICAL  SCHOOL,  THE  CORROBORATIVE  EVIDENCE  OF  RECENTLY 
DISCOVERED  MANUSCRIPTS,  ETC.,  AND  THE  TESTIMONY 
OF  JESUS  ON  falS  TRIAL. 


BY 

MARK  HOPKINS,  D.  ! ). ,  LL.  D., 

LATE  PRESIDENT  OF  WILLIAMS  COLLEGE. 


PRESENTATION  EDITION,  ON  THE 
BROSS  FOUNDATION,  LAKE  FOREST  COLLEGE. 


T.  R.  MAR  YIN  &  SON, 
BOSTON,  1909. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1803,  by 
MARK  HOPKINS, 

In  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the 
District  of  Massachusetts. 


Copyright,  1880. 
MARK  HOPKINS, 
Williamstown,  Mass. 


Copyright,  1909, 

BY  THE  TRUSTEES  OF  LAKE  FOREST  UNIVERSITY, 

Lake  Forest,  Ill. 


T.  R.  MARVIN  AND  SOX,  PRINT  ICRS. 


f-nn  e- 

I  ?>o3 


p 

o 

**  '  , '  t  1 

THE  BEOSS  FOUNDATION 


The  Bross  Foundation  was  established  in  1879  by  the 
late  William  Bross,  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Illinois  from 
1866  to  1870.  Desiring  some  memorial  of  his  son,  Nathan¬ 
iel  Bross,  who  died  in  1856,  Mr.  Bross  entered  into  an 
agreement  with  the  “Trustees  of  Lake  Forest  University,” 
whereby  there  was  finally  transferred  to  them  the  sum  of 
forty  thousand  dollars,  the  income  of  which  was  to  accu- 
mulate  in  perpetuity  for  successive  periods  of  ten  years,  the 
accumulations  of  one  decade  to  be  spent  in  the  following 
decade,  for  the  purpose  of  stimulating  the  best  books  or 
treatises  “  on  the  connection ,  relation  and  mutual  bearing 
of  any  practical  science,  the  history  of  our  race ,  or  the  facts 
in  any  department  of  knowledge ,  ....  and  to  demonstrate 
the  divine  origin  and  the  authority  of  the  Christian  iScripj- 
tures  /  and,  further,  to  show  how  both  science  and  revela¬ 
tion  coincide  and  prove  the  existence,  the  providence,  or  any 
or  all  of  the  attributes  of  the  only  living  and  true  God, 
‘  infinite,  eternal  and  unchangeable  in  His  being,  wisdom , 
poicer,  holiness,  justice,  goodness,  and  truth?” 


4 


THE  BROSS  FOUNDATION. 


The  gift  contemplated  in  the  original  agreement  of  1879 
wan  finally  consummated  in  1890.  The  first  decade  of  the 
accumulation  of  interest  having  closed  in  1900,  the  Trus¬ 
tees  of  the  Bross  Fund  began  at  this  time  to  carry  out  the 
provisions  of  the  deed  of  gift.  It  was  determined  to  give 
the  general  title  of  “The  Bross  Library  ”  to  the  series  of 
books  purchased  and  published  with  the  proceeds  of  the 
Bross  Fund.  In  accordance  with  the  express  wish  of  the 
donor,  that  the  “  Evidences  of  Christianity  ”  of  his  “  very 
dear  friend  and  teacher,  Mark  Hopkins,  D.  D.,”  be  pur¬ 
chased  and  “ever  numbered  and  known  as  No.  1  of  the 
series,”  the  Trustees  secured  the  copyright  of  this  work, 
which  is  now  numbered  as  Volume  I  of  the  Bross  Library. 

The  trust  agreement  prescribed  two  methods  by  which 
the  production  of  books  and  treatises  of  the  nature  contem¬ 
plated  by  the  donor  was  to  be  stimulated : 

1.  The  Trustees  were  empowered  to  offer  one  or  more 
prizes  during  each  decade,  the  competition  for  which  was 
to  be  thrown  open  to  “the  scientific  men,  the  Christian 
philosophers  and  historians  of  all  nations.”  In  accordance 
with  this  provision,  a  prize  of  $6,000  was  offered  in  1902 
for  the  best  book  fulfilling  the  conditions  of  the  deed  of 
gift,  the  competing  manuscripts  to  be  presented  on  or 
before  June  1,  1905.  The  prize  was  awarded  to  the  Rev¬ 
erend  James  Orr,  D.  I).,  Professor  of  Apologetics  and  Sys¬ 
tematic  Theology  in  the  United  Free  Church  College, 
Glasgow,  for  his  treatise  on  “The  Problem  of  the  Old 


THE  BROSS  FOUNDATION. 


5 


Testament,”  which  was  published  in  1906  as  Volume  III 
of  the  Bross  Library.  The  next  decennial  prize  will  be 
awarded  about  1915,  and  will  be  announced  in  due  time. 

2.  The  Trustees  were  also  empowered  to  “select  and 
designate  any  particular  scientific  man  or  Christian  phi¬ 
losopher  and  the  subject  on  which  he  shall  write,”  and  to 
“  agree  with  him  as  to  the  sum  he  shall  receive  for  the  book 
or  treatise  to  be  written.”  Under  this  provision  the  Trus¬ 
tees  have,  from  time  to  time,  invited  eminent  scholars  to 
deliver  courses  of  lectures  before  Lake  Forest  College,  such 
courses  to  be  subsequently  published  as  volumes  in  the 
Bross  Library.  The  first  course  of  lectures,  on  “  Obliga¬ 
tory  Morality,”  was  delivered  in  May,  1908,  by  the  Rever¬ 
end  Francis  Landey  Patton,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  President  of 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary.  The  copyright  of  these 
lectures  is  now  the  property  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Bross 
Fund.  The  second  course  of  lectures,  on  “  The  Bible :  Its 
Origin  and  Nature,”  was  delivered  in  May,  1904,  by  the 
Reverend  Marcus  Rods,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Exegetical 
Theology  in  New  College,  Edinburgh.  These  lectures 
were  published  in  1905  as  Volume  II  of  the  Bross  Library. 
The  third  course  of  lectures,  on  “The  Bible  of  Nature,” 
was  delivered  from  September  24  to  October  3,  1907,  by 
Mr.  J.  Arthur  Thomson,  M.  A.,  Regius  Professor  of  Natu¬ 
ral  History  in  the  University  of  Aberdeen.  These  lectures 
were  published  in  1908  as  Volume  IV  of  the  Bross  Library. 
The  fourth  course  of  lectures,  on  “  The  Religions  of  Syria 


6 


THE  BROSS  FOUNDATION. 


and  Palestine  To-day,”  was  delivered  from  November  30  to 
December  14,  1908,  by  Frederick  J.  Bliss,  Pb.  D.,  of  Bei¬ 
rut,  Syria,  and  will  appear  as  the  fifth  volume  of  the  Bross 
Library. 

As  indicated  above,  it  was  the  express  wish  of  the  donor 
of  the  Bross  Fund  that  Dr.  Mark  Hopkins’s  “  Evidences  of 
Christianity  ”  should  forever  stand  as  the  first  of  the  series 
of  books  published  by  the  Fund.  In  accordance  with  this 
behest,  the  Trustees  offer  in  the  present  volume,  uniform 
with  the  other  volumes  of  the  Bross  Library,  a  presentation 
edition  of  Dr.  Hopkins’s  great  work,  which  is  no  less  im¬ 
portant  in  the  history  of  American  higher  education  than  in 
the  history  of  Christian  apologetics. 

JOHN  8CIIOLTE  NOLLEN, 

President  of  Lake  Forest  College. 

Lake  Foeest,  Illinois, 

Januaby,  1909. 


The  following  Lectures,  published  seventeen  years 
since,  having  been  extensively  used  as  a  text  book,  are 
now  revised,  with  the  hope  of  adapting  them  more  fully 
to  that  end.  In  doing  this,  the  arguments  have  been 
separated  from  each  other,  and  captions  have  been  given 
to  the  paragraphs.  Changes  have  also  been  made  in 
arrangement,  a  few  things  have  been  omitted,  and  some 
additions  have  been  made.  Neither  these,  nor  the  rea¬ 
sons  for  them,  need  be  specified.  The  general  form  and 
substance  of  the  Lectures  have  been  retained,  but,  as 
now  presented,  it  is  hoped  that  the  arguments  will  be 
both  more  readily  apprehended  and  more  easily  remem¬ 
bered. 

The  Lectures  were  originally  written  on  the  invita¬ 
tion  of  John  A.  Lowell,  Esq.,  to  deliver  them  before 
the  Lowell  Institute  ;  and  my  sense  of  his  kindness  and 
courtesy  were  expressed  in  connection  with  their  former 
publication.  That  expression  I  desire  to  renew,  and 
to  add  that  the  same  kindness  and  courtesy  have  been 
still  further  illustrated  in  connection  with  the  present 
edition. 

MARK  HOPKINS. 

Williams  College,  September,  1863, 


PREFACE 

TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 


The  following  Lectures  are  published  as  they  were  de¬ 
livered.  Perhaps  nothing  would  be  gained,  on  the  whole, 
by  recasting  them  ;  but  they  must  be  expected  to  have  the 
defects  incident  to  compositions  prepared  under  the  pressure 
of  other  duties,  and  required  to  be  completed  within  a  lim¬ 
ited  time. 

When  I  entered  upon  the  subject,  I  supposed  it  had  been 
exhausted ;  but  on  looking  at  it  more  nearly,  I  was  led  to  see 
that  Christianity  has  such  relations  to  nature  and  to  man, 
that  the  evidence  resulting  from  a  comparison  of  it  with 
them  may  be  almost  said  to  be  exhaustless.  To  the  evidence 
ffom  this  source  I  have  given  greater  prominence  than  is 
common,  both  because  it  has  been  comparatively  neglected, 
and  because  I  judged  it  better  adapted  than  the  historical 
proof  to  interest  a  promiscuous  audience.  It  was  with  refer¬ 
ence  to  both  these  points,  that,  in  the  arrangement  and 
grouping  of  these  Lectures,  I  have  departed  from  the  ordi¬ 
nary  course ;  and  if  they  shall  be  found  in  any  degree  pecul¬ 
iarly  adapted  to  the  present  state  of  the  public  mind,  I  think 
it  will  be  from  the  prominence  given  to  the  Internal  Evi¬ 
dence,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  chief  topics  of  argument 
are  presented  within  a  moderate  space. 

(4) 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 


9 


The  method  of  proof  of  which  I  have  just  spoken  has  one 
disadvantage  which  I  found  embarrassing.  If  Christianity  is 
compared  with  nature  or  with  man,  it  must  be  assumed  that 
\t  is  some  specific  thing;  and  hence  there  will  be  danger, 
either  of  being  so  general  and  indefinite  as  to  be  without 
interest,  or  of  getting  upon  controversial  ground.  Eacli  of 
these  extremes  it  was  my  wish  to  avoid.  That  I  succeeded 
in  doing  this  perfectly,  I  cannot  suppose.  Probably  it  would 
be  impossible  for  any  one  to  do  so  in  the  judgment  of  all. 
My  wish  was  to  present  the  argument.  This  I  could  not  do 
without  indicating  my  sentiments  on  some  of  the  lead¬ 
ing  doctrines  of  Christianity  up  to  a  certain  point;  and 
if  any  think  that  I  went  too  far,  I  can  only  say  that  it  was 
difficult  to  know  where  to  stop,  and  that,  if  I  had  given  the 
argument  precisely  as  it  lay  in  my  own  mind,  I  should  have 
gone  much  farther.  It  is  from  the  adaptation  of  Christianity 
as  providing  an  atonement,  and  consequently  a  divine  Re¬ 
deemer,  to  the  condition  and  wants  of  man,  that  the  chief 
force  of  such  works  as  that  of  Erskine,  and  “  The  Philosophy 
of  the  Plan  of  Salvation,”  is  derived ;  and  I  should  be  unwill¬ 
ing  to  have  it  supposed  that  I  presented  any  thing  which  I 
regarded  as  a  complete  system  of  the  Evidences  of  Christian¬ 
ity,  from  which  that  argument  was  excluded. 

But  if,  in  some  of  its  aspects,  the  evidence  for  Christianity 
may  be  said  to  be  exhaustless,  it  may  also  be  said  that  several 
of  the  leading  topics  of  argument  have  probably  been  pre* 
sented  as  ably  as  they  ever  will  be.  Those  topics  I  thought 
it  my  duty  to  present,  and  in  doing  so  I  had  no  wish  to  sac¬ 
rifice  force  to  originality,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  avail  my¬ 
self  freely  of  such  labors  of  others  as  were  within  my  reach. 
If  I  had  had  time  to  do  this  more  fully,  no  doubt  the  Lec¬ 
tures  would  have  been  improved. 


10 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 


For  much  recurrence  to  original  authorities  in  the  histori¬ 
cal  part,  I  had  not  time.  The  quotations  in  that  part  are 
generally  taken  from  Paley  or  Horne,  or  from  some  source 
equally  common.  Those  quotations,  however,  are  of  unques¬ 
tioned  authority;  they  are  to  the  point,  and  perhaps  nothing 
could  have  more  usefully  occupied  the  same  space. 

The  importance  of  the  object  intended  to  be  accomplished 
by  the  founder  of  the  Lowell  Institute,  in  this  course  of  Lec¬ 
tures,  cannot  be  over-estimated.  Let  there  be  in  the  minds 
of  the  people  generally  a  settled  and  rational  conviction  of 
the  truth  of  Christianity,  such  as  a  fair  presentation  of  the 
evidence  could  not  fail  to  produce,  and  there  will  be  the  best 
and  the  only  true  foundation  laid  for  a  rational  piety,  and  for 
the  practice  of  every  social  and  civil  virtue.  That  these 
Lectures  were  useful,  to  some  extent,  when  they  were  deliv¬ 
ered,  in  producing  such  a  conviction,  I  had  the  great  satisfac¬ 
tion  of  knowing ;  and  I  now  commit  them  to  the  blessing  of 
God,  with  the  hope,  though  there  are  so  many  and  so  able 
treatises  on  this  subject  already  before  the  public,  that  they 
will  have  a  degree  of  usefulness  that  will  justify  their  publi¬ 
cation. 


’Villiams  College,  April,  1846. 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  I. 

I*  AGE 

Object  of  the  Course.  —  Responsibility  of  Men  for  their  Opinions. 

—  Revelation  provable.  — This  shown  from  a  Comparison  of 
Mathematical  and  Moral  Eviden.ce,  and  from  an  Analysis 
of  the  Argument  of  Hume . . 13 


LECTURE  II. 

Preliminary  Observations.  —  Revelation  probable  :  First,  from 
the  Nature  of  the  Case?  secondly,  from  Facts.  —  Probability 
of  Miracles,  aside  from  their  Effect  in  sustaining  any  particular 
Revelation.  —  Connection  between  the  Miracle  and  the  Boo 
trine.  —  The  Christian  Religion,  or  none.  ...  - 


LECTURE  III. 

Internal  and  External  Evidence. — -Vagueness  of  the  Division 
between  them. — Reasons  for  considering  the  Internal  Evi¬ 
dences  first.  —  Argument  first :  From  Analogy.  .....  68 

LECTURE  IV. 

Argument  second :  Coincidence  of.  Christianity  with  Natural 
Religion.  —  Argument  third  :  Its  Adaptation  to  the  Conscience 
as  a  perceiving  Power. — Peculiar  Difficulties  in  the  Way  of 
establishing  and  maintaining  a  perfect  Standard.  —  Argument 
fourth :  If  the  Morality  is  perfect,  the  Religion  must  be  true.  91 


LECTURE  V. 

Argument  fifth:  Christianity  adapted  to  Man.  —Division  first: 
Its  Quickening  and  Guiding  Power.  —  Its  Adaptation  to  the 
Intellect,  the  Affections,  the  Imagination,  the  Conscience,  and 
the  Will . . . 


125 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  VI. 

PAGE 

Argument  fifth,  continued:  Division  second:  Christianity  as  a 
Restraining  Power. — Argument  sixth:  The  Experimental 
Evidence  of  Christianity.  —  Argument  seventh:  Its  Fitness 
and  Tendency  to  become  universal.  —  Argument  eighth:  It 
lias  always  been  in  the  World . .  .  155 

LECTURE  YII. 

Argument  ninth:  Christianity  could  not  have  been  originated 
by  Man . . . 183 

LECTURE  VIII. 

Argument  tenth :  The  Condition,  Character  and  Claims  of  Christ.  210 

LECTURE  IX. 

The  External  Evidence.  —  General  Grounds  on  which  this  is  to 
be  put.  —  Argument  eleventh  .  Authenticity  and  Ihtegrity  of 
the  Writings  of  the  New  Testament . 238 

LECTURE  X. 

Argument  twelfth :  Credibility  of  the  Books  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment . 269 

LECTURE  XI. 

Argument  thirteenth:  Prophecy. — Nature  of  this  Evidence. 

—  The  General  Object  of  Prophecy. —The  Fulfillment  of 

Prophecy.  . . 299 

LECTURE  XII. 

Objections.  — Argument  fourteenth  :  The  Propagation  of  Chris¬ 
tianity.  —  Argument  fifteenth  :  Its  Effects  and  Tendencies.  — 
Summary  and  Conclusion.  . .  .  328 

SUPPLEMENT. 

Attacks  of  the  Critical  School.  —  New  Evidences,  from  Ruins 
and  Ancient  Manuscripts.  —  Exclusive  Traits  of  Christianity. 

—  The  Testimony  of  Jesus  on  His  Trial.  . . 357 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


LECTURE  I. 

OBJECT  OF  THE  COURSE.  —  RESPONSIBILITY  OF  MEN  FOR  THEIR 
OPINIONS.  — REVELATION  PROVABLE. —  THIS  SHOWN  FROM  A 
COMPARISON  OF  MATHEMATICAL  AND  MORAL  EVIDENCE,  AND 
FROM  AN  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  ARGUMENT  OF  HUME. 

In  entering  upon  this  course  of  lectures,  there  is  one 
impression  against  which  I  wish  to  guard  at  the  outset. 
It  is,  that  I  come  here  to  defend  Christianity,  as  if  its 
truth  were  a  matter  of  doubt.  Not  so.  I  come,  not 
to  dispute,  but  to  exhibit  truth;  to  do  my  part  in  a 
great  work,  which  must  be  done  for  every  generation, 
by  showing  them,  so  that  they  shall  see  for  themselves, 
the  grounds  on  which  their  belief  in  the  Christian 
religion  rests.  I  come  to  stand  at  the  door  of  the 
temple  of  Truth,  and  ask  you  to  go  in  with  me,  and 
see  for  yourselves  the  foundation  and  the  shafts  of  those 
pillars  upon  which  its  dome  is  reared.  I  ask  you,  in 
the  words  of  one  of  old,  to  walk  with  me  about  our 
Zion,  and  go  round  about  her,  to  tell  the  towers  there^ 
of,  to  mark  well  her  bulwarks,  to  consider  her  palaces, 
that  ye  may  tell  it  to  the  generation  following.* 

Persons  to  be  benefited.  — In  doing  this,  I  shall  hope 
to  be  useful  to  three  classes  of  persons. 

First  Class. — To  the  first  belong  those  who  have 
received  Christianity  by  acquiescence ;  who  have,  per- 


*  Psalm  xlviil.  12,  13. 


(13) 


14 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


haps,  never  questioned  its  truth,  but  who  have  never 
examined  its  evidence.  This  class  is  large,  —  it  is  to 
be  feared  increasingly  so, — and  it  does  not  seem  to 
me  that  the  position  of  mind  in  which  they  are  placed, 
and  its  consequences,  are  sufficiently  regarded. 

The  claims  of  the  Christian  religion  present  them¬ 
selves  to  those  who  enter  upon  life  in  a  Christian  coun¬ 
try,  in  an  attitude  entirely  different  from  that  in  which 
they  were  presented  at  their  first  announcement,  when 
they  made  such  rapid  progress,  and  when  their  domin¬ 
ion  over  the  mind  of  man  was  so  efficient.*  Then,  no 
man  was  born  a  Christian.  If  he  became  one,  it  was 
in  opposition  to  the  prejudices  of  education,  to  ties  of 
kindred,  to  motives  of  interest,  and  often  at  the  sacri¬ 
fice  of  reputation  and  of  life.  This  no  man  would  do 
except  on  the  ground  of  the  strongest  reasons,  per¬ 
ceived  and  assented  to  by  his  own  mind.  Christianity 
was  an  aggressive  and  an  uncompromising  religion.  It 
attacked  every  other  form  of  religion,  whether  Jewish 
or  pagan,  and  sought  to  destroy  it.  It  "  turned  the 
world  upside  down  ”  wherever  it  came ;  and  the  first 
question  which  any  man  would  naturally  ask  was, 
"'What  are  its  claims?  What  are  the,  reasons  why 
I  should  receive  it  ?  ”  And  these  claims  and  reasons 
would  be  examined  with  all  the  attention  that  could  be 
produced  by  the  stimulus  of  novelty,  and  by  the  deep¬ 
est  personal  interest. 

Now,  however,  all  this  is  changed.  Men  are  born 
nominally  Christians.  The  truth  of  the  religion  is  taken 
for  granted ;  nothing  leads  them  to  question  it,  nothing 
to  examine  it.  In  this  position  the  mind  may  open 
itself  to  the  reception  of  the  religion  from  a  perception 
of  its  intrinsic  excellence,  and  its  adaptation  to  the  deep 
wants  of  man ;  but  the  probability  is  that  doubts  will 
arise.  The  occasions  of  these  are  abundant  on  every 


*  See  Whately’s  Logic,  Appendix,  p.  326. 


DOUBTS. 


15 


hand  —  the  strange  state  in  which  the  world  is ;  the 
number  of  sects ;  the  conduct  of  Christians ;  a  com¬ 
panion  that  ridicules  religion ;  an  infidel  book.  One 
objection  or  doubt  makes  way  for  another.  The  objec¬ 
tions  come  first,  and,  ere  the  individual  is  aware,  his 
respect  for  religion,  and  his  confidence  in  it,  are  under¬ 
mined.  Especially  will  this  be  so  if  a  young  man 
travels  much,  and  sees  different  forms  of  religion.  He 
will  see  the  Hindoo  bowing  before  his  idol,  the  Turk 
praying  toward  Mecca,  the  Papist  kneeling  before  his 
saint,  and  the  Protestant  attending  his  church ;  and,  as 
each  seems  equally  sincere,  and  equally  certain  he  is 
right,  he  will  acquire,  insensibly  perhaps,  a  general 
impression  that  all  religions  are  equally  true,  or — which 
is  much  the  same  thing  —  that  they  are  equally  false,  and 
any  exclusive  attachment  to  the  Christian  religion  will 
be  regarded  as  bigotry.  The  religion  itself  will  come 
to  be  disliked  as  a  restraint,  and  despised  as  a  form. 
It  is  chiefly  from  this  class  that  the  ranks  of  fanaticism, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  of  infidelity,  on  the  other,  are 
filled ;  and  it  will  often  depend  on  constitutional  tem¬ 
perament,  or  accidental  temptation,  whether  such  a  one 
shall  become  a  fanatic  or  an  infidel. 

At  this  point,  there  is  doubtless  a  fault  both  in  Chris> 
tian  parents  and  in  Christian  ministers.  Where  there 
is  a  proper  course  of  training,  this  class  can  never  be¬ 
come  numerous ;  but  it  is  numerous  in  all  our  congre¬ 
gations  now.  Needless  doubts  are  not  to  be  awakened, 
but  it  is  no  honor  to  the  Christian  religion  to  receive  it 
by  prescription.  It  is  no  fault  to  have  those  question¬ 
ings,  that  desire  for  insight,  —  call  them  doubts  if  you 
will, — which  always  spring  up  in  strong  minds,  and 
which  will  not  be  quieted  till  the  ground  and  evidence 
of  those  things  which  they  receive  are  distinctly  seen. 
Are  there  such  among  my  hearers  ?  Them  I  hope  to 
benefit.  I  hope  to  do  for  them  what  Luke  did  for  the 


16 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


most  excellent  Theophilus  —  to  show  them  the  " cer¬ 
tainty /”  of  those  things  in  which  they  have  been  in¬ 
structed  ;  to  refer  them,  as  he  does  again  the  same 
person  in  the  Acts,  to  those  "  infallible  proofs  ”  on  which 
the  religion  rests. 

Second  Class.  — To  the  second  class  whom  I  hope  to 
benefit  belong  those  who  have  gradually  passed  from 
the  preceding  class  into  doubt  and  infidelity.  For  such, 
I  think,  there  is  hope.  They  are  not  unwilling  to  see 
evidence.  Their  position  has  led  them  to  look  at  objec¬ 
tions  first,  and  they  have,  perhaps,  never  had  time  or 
opportunity  to  look  at  the  embodied  evidence  for  Chris¬ 
tianity.  They  have  fallen  into  infidelity  from  associa¬ 
tion,  from  vanity,  from  fashion ;  they  have  not  found 
in  it  the  satisfaction  they  expected,  and  they  are  willing 
to  review  the  ground,  or  rather  to  look  candidly,  for 
the  first  time,  at  the  evidences  for  this  religion. 

Exceptions.  — Besides  this  class  of  infidels,  there  are, 
however,  two  others,  whom  I  have  very  little  hope  of 
benefiting.  One  is  of  those  who  are  made  so  by  their 
passions,  and  are  under  the  control  of  appetite,  or  am¬ 
bition,  or  avarice,  or  revenge.  As  these  were  not  made 
infidels  by  argument,  argument  will  not  be  likely  to 
reclaim  them.  "They  never  think  of  religion  but  with 
a  feeling  of  enmity,  and  never  speak  of  it  but  in  the 
language  of  sneer  or  abuse.”  Another  class  is  of  those 
who  have  been  well  characterized  as  "  a  cold,  specula¬ 
tive,  subtle  set  of  skeptics,  who  attack  first  principles 
and  confound  their  readers  or  hearers  with  paradoxes.” 
Apparently  influenced  by  vanity,  they  adopt  principles 
which  would  render  all  argument  impossible  or  nu¬ 
gatory,  and  which  would  lead  to  fundamental  and 
universal  skepticism.  This  class  seems  not  to  be  as 
numerous  or  as  dangerous  at  present  as  at  some  former 
times.* 


*  Alexander’s  Evidences,  p.  9. 


CERTAINTY  AND  ITS  EFFECTS. 


17 


Third  Class.  — The  third  class  whom  I  hope  to  ben¬ 
efit  consists  of  Christians  themselves. 

Certainty  and  Efficiency. — It  is  one  of  the  condi¬ 
tions  of  Christian  character  and  efficiency,  that,  on  some 
ground,  there  should  be  such  a  conviction  of  the  truth 
of  Christianity  as  to  form  a  basis  of  action  and  of  self- 
sacrifice,  which,  if  it  should  be  required,  would  be 
carried  even  to  martyrdom.  The  grounds  of  such  a 
conviction  cannot  be  too  well  examined.  There  is  no 
man,  who  finds  himself  called  to  act  upon  any  convic¬ 
tion,  who  does  not  feel  his  self-respect  increased,  and 
his  peace  of  mind  enhanced,  and  his  strength  for  action 
augmented,  when  he  has  a  clear  perception  of  the  ground 
of  the  conviction  upon  which  he  acts.  And  even  though 
he  may  once  have  seen  the  Christian  evidences  in  all 
their  force,  and  been  astonished  at  the  mass  of  proof, 
and  have  been  perfectly  convinced,  yet,  after  a  time, 
these  impressions  fade  away,  and  it  is  good  for  him  to 
have  them  renewed.  It  is  as  when  one  has  looked  at 
the  Falls  of  Niagara,  and  stood  upon  the  tower,  and 
gone  round  upon  Table  rock,  and  been  rowed  in  the 
little  boat  up  toward  the  great  fall,  and  had  his  mind 
filled  with  the  scene,  but  has  again  been  occupied  in  the 
business  of  life  till  the  impression  has  become  indistinct 
on  his  mind.  He  would  then  gladly  return,  and  have 
it  renewed  and  deepened. 

This  feeling  of  certainty  seems  to  have  been  one  of 
the  elements  of  the  vigorous  piety  of  ancient  times. 
They  believed ;  therefore  they  spoke.  They  knew 
whom  they  believed ;  therefore  they  were  ready  to  be 
offered.  They  spoke  of  "  certainty,”  of  "  infallible 
proofs,”  of  being  "eye-witnesses,”  of  the  "more  .sure 
word  of  prophecy.”  Their  tread  was  not  that  of  men 
who  were  feeling  their  way  in  the  twilight  of  doubtful 
evidence,  but  that  of  men  who  saw  every  thing  in  the 
light  of  clear  and  perfect  vision. 


18 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


1  would  not,  indeed,  limit  the  amount  of  knowledge 
and  conviction  with  which  piety  may  exist.  If  it  can 
spring  up  in  the  twilight,  and  grow  where  doubts  over¬ 
shadow  it,  and  where  it  never  feels  the  direct  rays  of 
truth,  we  ought  to  rejoice ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  we 
ought  to  know  that  the  growth  will  be  feeble,  and  that 
the  plant  must  be  despoiled  of  the  beauty  and  fragrance 
which  it  will  have  when  it  grows  as  in  the  light  of  the 
open  day.  To  produce  this  feeling  of  certainty  in  one 
already  a  Christian,  was  the  avowed  object  for  which 
the  Gospel  of  Luke  was  written ;  and  it  is  this  feeling, 
containing  the  elements  both  of  peace  and  of  strength, 
that  I  hope  to  produce  and  to  deepen  in  the  minds  of 
Christians. 

Cooperation  needed .  —  But  if  I  am  to  be  useful  to 
either  of  these  classes,  it  must  be  with  their  own  co¬ 
operation.  The  principle  involved  in  this  assertion,  in 
reference  to  all  moral  truth,  and,  indeed,  to  all  truth  the 
acquisition  of  which  requires  attention,  is  as  obvious  to 
philosophy  and  common  sense  as  it  is  plainly  announced 
in  the  Bible.  Nothing  is  more  common,  in  reference 
to  their  present,  as  well  as  their  future  interests,  than 
for  men  to  "have  eyes  and  see  not.” 

Objection  —  Belief  necessary . — Here,  however,  I  am 
met  by  the  objection  that  the  belief  of  a  man  is  not 
within  his  own  power,  but  that  he  is  compelled  to 
believe  according  to  certain  laws  of  evidence.  This 
objection  I  do  not  apprehend  to  be  of  very  wide  influ¬ 
ence  ;  but  I  have  met  with  a  few  men  of  intelligence 
who  have  held  to  it,  and  it  has  been  sustained  by  some 
names  of  high  authority.  I  am  therefore  bound  to 
notice  it. 

In  this  case,  as  in  most  others  of  a  similar  kind,  the 
objection  involves  a  partial  truth,  from  which  its  plausi¬ 
bility  is  derived.  It  is  true,  within  certain  limitations, 
and  under  certain  conditions,  and  with  respect  to  cer- 


BELIEF  AND  THE  WILL. 


19 


tain  kinds  of  truth,  that  we  are  not  voluntary  in  our 
belief ;  but  then  these  conditions  and  limitations  are 
such  as  entirely  to  sever  from  this  truth  any  conse¬ 
quence  that  we  are  not  perfectly  ready  to  admit. 

W e  admit  that  belief  is  in  no  case  directly  dependent 
on  the  will ;  that  in  some  cases  it  is  entirely  independ¬ 
ent  of  it ;  but  he  must  be  exceedingly  bigoted,  or  un¬ 
observant  of  what  passes  around  him,  who  should 
affirm  that  the  will  has  no  influence.  The  influence  of 
the  will  here  is  analogous  to  its  influence  in  many  other 
cases.  It  is  as  great  as  it  is  over  the  objects  which  we 
see.  It  does  not  depend  upon  the  will  of  any  man, 
if  he  turns  his  eyes  in  a  particular  direction,  whether 
he  shall  see  a  tree  there.  If  the  tree  be  there,  he  must 
see  it,  and  is  compelled  to  believe  in  its  existence  ;  but 
it  was  entirely  within  his  power  not  to  turn  his  eyes  in 
that  direction,  and  thus  to  remain  unconvinced,  on  the 
highest  of  all  evidence,  of  the  existence  of  the  tree,  and 
unimpressed  by  its  beauty  and  proportion.  It  is  not 
by  his  will  directly  that  man  has  any  control  over  his 
thoughts.  It  is  not  by  willing  a  thought  into  the  mind 
that  he  can  call  it  there ;  and  yet  we  all  know  that 
through  attention  and  habits  of  association  the  sub¬ 
jects  of  our  thoughts  are,  to  a  great  extent,  directed 
by  the  will. 

It  is  precisely  so  in  respect  to  belief ;  and  he  who 
denies  this,  denies  the  value  of  candor,  and  the  influ¬ 
ence  of  party  spirit,  and  prejudice,  and  interest,  on  the 
mind.  So  gre.at  is  this  influence,  however,  that  a  keen 
observer  of  human  nature,  and  one  who  will  not  be 
suspected  of  leaning  unduly  to  the  doctrine  I  now  ad¬ 
vocate,  has  supposed  it  to  extend  even  to  our  belief  of 
mathematical  truth.  "Men,”  says  Hobbes,  "appeal 
from  custom  to  reason,  and  from  reason  to  custom,  as 
it  serves  their  turn,  receding  from  custom  when  their 
interest  requires  it,  and  setting  themselves  against 


20 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


reason  as  oft  as  reason  is  against  them ;  which  is  the 
cause  that  the  doctrine  of  right  and  wrong  is  perpetu¬ 
ally  disputed  both  by  the  pen  and  the  sword  ;  wnereas 
the  doctrine  of  lines  and  figures  is  not  so,  because  men 
care  not,  in  that  subject,  what  is  truth,  as  it  is  a  thing 
that  crosses  no  man’s  ambition,  or  profit,  or  lust.  For, 
I  doubt  not,  if  it  had  been  a  thing  contrary  to  any  man’s 
right  of  dominion,  or  to  the  interest  of  men  that  have 
dominion,  that  the  three  angles  of  a  triangle  should  be 
equal  to  two  angles  of  a  square,  that  doctrine  should 
have  been,  if  not  disputed,  yet  by  the  burning  of  all 
books  of  geometry  suppressed,  as  far  as  he  whom  it 
concerned  was  able.”  "  This,”  says  Hallam,  from  whose 
work  I  make  the  quotation,  w  does  not  exaggerate  the 
pertinacity  of  mankind  in  resisting  the  evidence  of  truth 
when  it  thwarts  the  interests  or  passions  of  any  partic¬ 
ular  sect  or  community.”  *  Let  a  man  who  hears  the 
forty-seventh  proposition  of  Euclid  announced  for  the 
first  time,  trace  the  steps  of  the  demonstration,  and  he 
must  believe  it  to  be  true ;  but  let  him  know  that,  as 
soon  as  he  does  perceive  the  evidence  of  that  proposi¬ 
tion  so  as  to  believe  it  on  that  ground,  he  shall  lose  his 
right  eye,  and  he  will  never  trace  the  evidence,  or  come 
to  that  belief  which  results  from  the  force  of  the  only 
proper  evidence.  You  may  tell  him  it  is  true,  but  he 
will  reply  that  he  does  not  know,  he  does  not  see  it  to 
be  so. 

So  far,  then,  from  finding  in  this  law  of  belief — the 
law  by  which  it  is  necessitated  on  condition  of  a  certain 
amount  of  evidence  perceived  by  the  mind  —  an  ex¬ 
cuse  for  any  who  do  not  receive  the  evidence  of  the 
Christian  religion,  it  is  in  this  very  law  that  I  find  the 
ground  of  their  condemnation.  Certainly,  if  God  has 
provided  evidence  as  convincing  as  that  for  the  forty- 
seventh  of  Euclid,  so  that  all  men  have  to  do  is  to 


*  Literature  of  Europe,  vol.  iii. 


CANDOR  ALONE  NEEDED. 


23 


examine  it  with  candor,  then  they  must  be  without  ex' 
cuse  if  they  do  not  believe.  This,  I  suppose,  God  has 
done.  He  asks  no  one  to  believe  except  on  the  ground 
of  evidence,  and  such  evidence  as  ought  to  command 
assent.  Let  a  man  examine  this  evidence  with  entire 
candor,  laying  aside  all  regard  for  consequences  or  re¬ 
sults,  simply  according  to  the  laws  of  evidence,  and 
then,  if  he  is  not  convinced,  I  believe  God  will,  so  fai 
forth,  acquit  him  in  the  great  day  of  account.  But  if 
God  has  given  men  such  evidence  that  a  fair,  and  full, 
and  perfectly  candid  examination  is  all  that  is  needed 
to  necessitate  belief,  then,  if  men  do  not  believe,  it 
will  be  in  this  very  law  that  we  shall  find  the  ground 
of  their  condemnation.  The  difficulty  will  not  lie  in 
their  mental  constitution  as  related  to  evidence,  nor  in 
the  want  of  evidence,  but  in  that  moral  condition,  that 
state  of  the  heart,  or  the  will,  which  prevented  a  proper 
examination.  "  There  seems,”  says  Butler,  ”  no  possible 
reason  to  be  given  why  we  may  not  be  in  a  state  of 
moral  probation  with  regard  to  the  exercise  of  our  un¬ 
derstanding  upon  the  subject  of  religion,  as  we  are  with 
regard  to  our  behavior  in  common  affairs.  The  former 
is  a  thing  as  much  within  our  power  and  choice  as  the 
latter.” 

When  truth  has  a  fair  chance. — And  here,  I  re¬ 
mark  incidentally,  we  see  what  it  is  for  truth  to  have 
a  fair  chance.  There  are  many  who  think  it  has  this 
when  it  is  left  free  to  combat  error  without  the  inter¬ 
vention  of  external  force ;  and  they  seem  to  suppose  it 
will,  of  necessity,  prevail.  But  the  fact  is,  that  the 
truth  almost  never  has  a  fair  chance  with  such  a  being 
as  man,  when  the  reception  of  it  involves  self-denial, 
or  the  recognition  of  duties  to  which  he  is  indisposed. 
Let  "  the  mists  that  steam  up  before  the  intellect  from 
a  corrupt  heart  be  dispersed,”  and  truths,  before  ob¬ 
scure,  shine  out  as  the  noonday.  Before  the  mind  of 

B 


22 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


one  with  tho  intellect  of  a  man,  but  with  the  purity  and 
unselfishness  of  an  angel,  the  evidence  of  such  a  sys¬ 
tem  as  the  gospel  would  have  a  fair  chance. 

Is  it  true,  then,  that,  if  a  perfectly  candid  attention 
be  given  to  its  evidences,  a  certainty  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity  will  be  produced  in  the  mind  at  this  late 
day,  and  in  these  ends  of  the  earth?  I  say,  Yes;  and 
l  say  it  in  full  view  of  the  kind  of  evidence  by  which 
Christianity  is  supported,  and  which,  by  some,  is  sup¬ 
posed  incapable  of  producing  certainty.  Let  us  look 
at  this  point. 

The  kind  of  evidence — probable  and  mathematical 
evidence  compared . — What,  then,  is  the  kind  of  evi¬ 
dence  by  which  Christianity  is  supported  ?  And  here  I 
am  ready  to  say,  it  is  moral  evidence,  as  opposed  to 
mathematical,  and  what  is  called  probable  evidence,  as 
opposed  to  demonstrative.  Is,  then,  mathematical  evi¬ 
dence  a  better  ground  of  certainty  than  moral  evidence  ? 
On  this  point,  and  also  respecting  the  subjects  to  which 
mathematical  evidence  can  properly  be  applied,  there  is 
a  wrong  impression  extensively  prevalent,  not  only  in 
the  community  at  large,  but  among  educated  men. 
Figures,  it  is  said,  can  not  lie  ;  and  there  seems  to  be  an 
impression  that  where  they  are  used,  the  result  must 
be  certain.  But  when  a  surveyor  measures  the  sides 
and  angles  of  a  field,  and  ascertains  the  contents  by 
calculation,  is  he  certain  h©*  has  the  exact  contents  of 
that  field?  He  may  be  so  if  no  mistake  has  been 
made  in  measuring  the  sides  and  angles.  But  of  that 
he  never  can  be  certain ;  or,  if  he  is,  it  can  not  be  by 
mathematical  evidence.  His  accuracy  will  depend  upon 
the  perfection  of  his  instruments,  of  which  he  never 
can  be  certain.  So  it  will  be  found  in  all  cases  of  what 
are  called  mixed  mathematics.  There  are  elements 
entering  into  the  result  that  do  not  depend  on  mathe¬ 
matical  evidence,  and  therefore  the  evidence  for  that 


SPHERE  OF  MATHEMATICAL  EVIDENCE. 


23 


result  is  not  demonstrative.  Even  in  those  results 
in  which  the  greatest  confidence  is  felt,  and  in  which 
there  seems  to  be,  and  perhaps  is,  an  entire  coincidence 
with  fact,  the  certainty  that  is  felt  does  not  result  from 
mathematical  evidence.  No  man,  who  understands  the 
nature  of  the  evidence  on  which  he  proceeds,  would 
say  he  had  demonstrated  that  there  would  be  an  eclipse 
next  year.  His  expectation  of  it  would  depend,  not  on 
mathematical  evidence,  but  upon  his  belief  in  the  sta¬ 
bility  of  the  laws  of  nature.  And  even  in  accordance 
with  those  laws,  it  is  not  impossible  that  some  new 
comet  may  come  in  athwart  the  orbit  of  the  earth  o> 
the  moon,  and  disturb  their  relative  position. 

Facts  can  not  be  demonstrated .  —  But,  says  the  ob 
jector,  I  speak  of  jpure  mathematics,  and  of  the  certainty 
of  its  evidence.  I  say,  then,  with  regard  to  pure 
mathematics,  that  it  has  no  application  to  facts.  No 
fact  can  be  demonstrated.  Nothing  whatever,  no  asser¬ 
tion  about  any  thing  that  ever  did  exist,  or  ever  can 
exist,  can  be  demonstrated,  that  is,  proved  by  evidence 
purely  mathematical.  This  will  be  assented  to  by  al] 
who  understand  the  nature  of  mathematical  evidence, 
and  it  can  be  easily  shown.  It  can  be  demonstrated 
that  the  two  acute  angles  in  every  right-angled  triangle 
are  equal  to  the  right  angle ;  but  can  this  be  demon¬ 
strated  of  any  actually  existing  triangle  ?  Draw  what 
you  call  a  right-angled  triangle,  and  can  you  demon¬ 
strate  it  about  that?  No.  You  can  not  demonstrate 
that  your  given  triangle  is  right-angled.  Whether  it  is 
or  not  will  depend  upon  the  perfection  of  your  instru¬ 
ments  and  the  perfection  of  the  senses.  Accordingly, 
demonstration  never  asserts,  and  never  can  assert,  of 
any  triangle,  that  it  is  right-angled ;  but  its  language 
is,  Let  it  be  a  right-angled  triangle,  suppose  it  to  be, 
and  then  the  two  acute  angles  will  be  equal  to  that  right 
angle.  It  asserts  nothing  whatever  about  any  thing 


24 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


that  actually  exists,  but  only  the  connection  between  a 
certain  supposition  and  a  certain  conclusion.*  What¬ 
ever  certainty  we  have,  therefore,  about  any  thing  that 
actually  exists,  or  has  existed,  or  can  exist,  is  derived, 
not  from  mathematical,  but  from  what  is  called  moral 
or  probable  evidence. 

What,  then,  shall,  we  say  of  the  reasonableness,  or 
rather  of  the  folly,  of  those  who  ask  for  mathematical 
evidence  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion, 
when  that  evidence  can  not  be  applied  to  prove  any  one 
fact  whatever? 

I  would  by  no  means  disparage  mathematics.  I  ac¬ 
knowledge  its  extensive  utility  and  application.  I  am 
surprised  at  that  skill  in  the  construction  of  instru¬ 
ments  by  which  truths  demonstrated  concerning  sup¬ 
posed  lines  and  figures  can  be  so  correctly  and  generally 
applied  to  the  purposes  of  practical  life.  I  look  with 
wonder  upon  that  structure  of  the  universe,  by  which 
truths  demonstrated  concerning  these  same  abstract 
propositions  are  found  to  apply  with  so  much  exactness 
to  its  forms,  and  forces,  and  movements ;  but  still,  I 
would  have  this  science  keep  within  its  own  sphere,  and 
not  arrogate  to  itself  a  certainty  which  docs  not  belong 
to  it  in  virtue  of  its  own  authority,  and  which  operates 
practically  to  throw  distrust  upon  our  conclusions  in 
a>ther  departments. 

Either,  then,  there  is  certainty  on  other  ground  than 
mathematical  evidence,  or  there  is  no  certainty  concern¬ 
ing  any  fact  or  existing  thing  whatever,  and  there  will 
be  no  stopping  short  of  that  absolute  skepticism 
which  denies  the  authority  of  the  human  faculties,  and 
doubts  of  every  thing,  and  finally  doubts  whether  it 
doubts. 

Grounds  of  certainty.  —  If,  then,  such  certainty 
may  be  attained,  our  next  inquiry  will  be,  What  are 


*  Stewart's  Elements,  vol.  ii.  chap.  ii.  sec.  3. 


GROUNDS  OF  CERTAINTY. 


2  b 


the  grounds  of  it?  And  of  these  there  are  no  less 
than  six. 

First :  Consciousness .  —  The  first  ground  of  certainty 
is  consciousness.  By  this  we  are  informed  of  what  is 
passing  within  our  own  minds.  We  are  certain  that 
we  think  and  feel. 

Second:  Reason.  — The  second  is  that  which  is  now 
commonly  called  reason  in  man,  or  by  some  the  reason, 
by  which  he  perceives  directly,  intuitively,  necessarily, 
and  believes,  with  a  conviction  from  which  he  can  not 
free  himself,  certain  fundamental  truths,  upon  which  all 
other  truths,  and  all  reasoning,  properly  so  called,  or 
deduction,  are  conditioned.  It  is  by  this  that  we  be¬ 
lieve  in  our  own  existence  and  personal  identity,  and 
in  the  maxim  that  every  event  must  have  an  adequate 
cause.  This  belongs  equally  to  all  men,  and,  within  its 
own  province,  its  authority  is  perfect.  JSTo  authority 
can  be  higher,  no  certainty  more  full  and  absolute,  than 
that  which  it  gives.  No  man  can  believe  any  thing  with 
a  certainty  greater  than  that  with  which  he  believes  in 
his  own  existence  ;  and,  if  we  may  suppose  such  a  case, 
he  who  should  doubt  of  his  own  existence,  would,  in 
that  single  doubt,  necessarily  involve  the  doubt  of  every 
thing  else. 

Third:  the  Senses. — The  third  ground  of  certainty 
is  the  evidence  of  the  senses.  I  do  not  deny  that  the 
senses  may  deceive  us  —  that  they  sometimes  do  ;  but 
I  affirm  that  generally  the  evidence  of  the  senses  is  the 
ground  of  entire  certainty  to  the  mass  of  mankind.  To 
them  "  seeing  is  believing,”  and  they  can  conceive  of 
no  greater  certainty  than  that  which  results  from  this 
evidence.  Whatever  doubt  some  may  attempt  to  cast 
over  this  subject,  it  is  obvious  that  no  event  whatever — 
not  the  flowing  of  water  toward  its.  source  —  can  be  a 
greater  violation  of  the  laws  of  nature,  more  in  opposi¬ 
tion  to  its  ordinary  sequences,  than  would  be  a  decep- 


26 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


tion  upon  the  senses  of  men  with  respect  to  certain 
things  and  under  certain  circumstances.  It  would  be 
as  great  a  miracle  to  make  three  millions,  or  one  mil¬ 
lion,  of  people  believe  that  they  went  out  and  gathered 
manna  —  that  they  saw,  and  felt,  and  tasted  it  —  when 
they  really  did  not,  as  it  would  if  water  should  flow 
back  toward  its  source,  or  should  divide  and  stand  up 
in  heaps. 

Fourth:  Memory . — The  fourth  ground  of  certainty 
is  the  evidence  of  memory.  Without  entire  confidence 
in  this,  no  testimony  could  be  taken  in  a  court  of  jus¬ 
tice,  no  criminal  could  be  convicted.  When  its  testi¬ 
mony  is  perfectly  clear  and  distinct,  it  leaves  no  doubt 
on  the  mind. 

Fifth:  Testimony .  —  The  fifth  ground  of  certainty  is 
testimony.  With  respect  to  this,  I  would  say  substan¬ 
tially  the  same  that  I  have  said  of  the  senses.  No 
doubt,  as  has  been  said  by  Hume,  and  as  every  body 
knows,  testimony  sometimes  deceives  us  ;  but  it  has 
not  been  enough  insisted  on,  that  testimony  may  be 
given  by  such  men,  and  so  many,  and  under  such  cir¬ 
cumstances,  as  to  form  a  ground  of  certainty  as  valid 
as  any  other  can  possibly  be.  I  do  not  now  say  that 
the  testimony  for  the  Christian  religion  is  of  this  char¬ 
acter  ;  but  I  say,  if  it  is  not,  the  difficulty  lies,  not  in 
the  kind  of  evidence,  as  distinguished  from  mathemati¬ 
cal,  but  in  the  degree  of  it  in  this  particular  case. 

Sixth:  Reasoning. — The  sixth  ground  of  certainty 
is  reasoning.  That  this  is  so  in  mathematics,  all  will 
admit.  On  other  subjects,  the  certainty  may  be  equally 
full  and  absolute.  When  Robinson  Crusoe  saw  the 
track  of  a  man’s  foot  upon  the  shore  of  his  island,  he 
was  as  certain  there  had  been  a  man  there  as  if  he  had 
seen  him.  It  was  reasoning;  it  was  inferring,  from  a 
fact  which  he  knew  by  sensation,  another  fact  which  he 
did  not  thus  know  ;  but  how  perfectly  conclusive  !  The 


GROUNDS  OF  CERTAINTY. 


27 


skeptic  never  lived  who  would  have  doubted  it.  This 
kind  of  evidence  is  capable  of  every  degree  of  proba¬ 
bility,  from  the  slightest  shade  of  it  upward.  It  often 
requires  that  a  large  number  of  circumstances  should 
be  taken  into  the  account,  and,  in  many  cases,  does  not 
amount  to  positive  proof.  In  many  others,  however, 
it  does ;  and  the  circumstance  on  which  I  wish  to  fix 
attention  is,  that  it  may  be  the  ground  of  a  belief  as 
fixed  and  certain  as  any  other. 

These,  then,  are  the  grounds  of  certainty,  and  each 
has  its  peculiar  province.  Of  these,  each  of  the  first 
three  —  consciousness,  reason,  and  the  senses— -is  en¬ 
tirely  competent  within  its  own  sphere,  and,  indeed, 
scarcely  admits  of  collateral  support.  Not  so  the  last 
three.  The  evidence  of  memory,  of  testimony,  and 
of  reasoning,  may  mutually  assist  and  confirm  each 
other.  It  is  upon  the  last  two,  the  evidence  of  testi¬ 
mony  and  of  reasoning,  that  we  rely  for  the  support 
of  what  are  called  the  external  proofs  of  Christianity ; 
and  if  one  of  these  is  capable  of  producing  certainty, 
much  more,  if  certainty  admitted  of  degrees,  would 
they  both  when  conspiring  together. 

A  habit  of  doubt  —  credulity  and  skepticism  equally 
weak.  — I  have  dwelt  on  this  subject  because  it  seems 
to  me  that  many  persons  indulge  themselves  in  a  sickly 
and  effeminate  habit  of  doubt  on  all  subjects  without 
the  pale  of  mathematics  and  physics,  and  more  es¬ 
pecially  on  the  subject  of  religion.  So  much  has 
been  said,  there  are  so  many  opinions  and  so  much 
doubt  respecting  different  points  of  the  religion  itself, 
that  this  feeling  of  doubt  has  been  transferred  to  the 
evidence  by  which  the  religion  is  sustained.  I  wish, 
therefore,  to  have  it  distinctly  felt  that  the  kind  of  evi¬ 
dence  by  which  Christianity  is  sustained  is  capable  of 
producing  certainty,  and  I  claim  that  the  evidences  are 
such  that,  when  fully  and  fairly  examined,  they  will 


28 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


produce  it.  They  amount  to  what  is  meant  by  a  moral 
demonstration.  There  are  many  subjects  on  which, 
from  want  of  evidence,  or  because  they  are  beyond  the 
reach  of  our  faculties,  it  is  wise,  and  the  mark  of  a 
strong  mind,  to  doubt ;  and  there  are  also  subjects  on 
which  it  is  equally  the  mark  of  a  weak  mind  to  doubt, 
and  of  a  strong  one  to  give  a  full  assent.  The  day, 
I  trust,  has  gone  by  when  a  habit  of  doubt  and  of 
skepticism  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  mark  of  superior 
intellect. 

Possible  conflict  of  reasoning  and  testimony  —  the 
argument  of  Hume.  — But,  though  testimony  and  rea¬ 
soning  may  produce  the  certainty  of  mathematical 
demonstration  in  some  circumstances,  yet  is  it  not  pos¬ 
sible  that  one  of  these  sources  of  evidence  may  so  come 
in  conflict  with  the  other  as  to  leave  the  mind  in  entire 
suspense  ?  Is  it  not  possible  that  an  amount  of  testi¬ 
mony  which,  when  we  look  at  it  by  itself,  seems  per¬ 
fectly  conclusive,  may  yet  be  opposed  by  an  argument 
which,  when  taken  by  itself,  seems  perfectly  conclusive, 
and  thus  the  mind  be  left  in  a  state  of  hopeless  per¬ 
plexity?  This  may  be  conceived;  and,  putting  the 
testimony  for  Christianity  in  the  most  favorable  light, 
it  is  precisely  the  condition  in  which  it  is  claimed,  by 
Hume  and  his  followers,  that  the  mind  of  a  reasonable 
person  must  be  thrown,  by  his  argument  on  miracles. 
Shall  I,  then,  go  on  to  state  and  answer  that  argument? 
I  am  not  unwilling  to  do  so  ;  because  it  will,  I  pre¬ 
sume,  be  expected ;  and  because  it  is  still  the  custom 
of  those  who  defend  Christianity  to  do  so,  just  as  it  was 
the  custom  of  British  ships  to  fire  a  gun  on  passing  the 
port  of  Copenhagen,  long  after  its  power*  had  been 
prostrated,  and  its  influence  had  ceased  to  be  felt. 

According  to  Hume,  "  Experience  is  our  only  guide 
in  reasoning  concerning  matters  of  fact.”  Our  belief 
of  any  fact  from  the  report  of  eye  witnesses  is  derived 


HUME  S  AEGUMENT. 


29 


from  no  other  principle  than  experience ;  that  is,  our 
observation  of  the  veracity  of  human  testimony.  Now, 
if  the  fact  attested  partakes  of  the  marvelous,  if  it  is  such 
as  has  seldom  fallen  under  our  observation,  here  is  a  con¬ 
test  of  two  opposite  experiences,  of  which  the  one  de¬ 
stroys  the  other  as  far  as  its  force  goes,  and  the  superior 
can  only  operate  on  the  mind  by  the  force  which  remains. 
" But,”  says  Hume,  "in  order  to  increase  the  proba¬ 
bility  against  the  testimony  of  witnesses,  let  us  suppose 
that  the  fact  which  they  affirm,  instead  of  being  only 
marvelous,  is  really  miraculous  ;  and  suppose,  also,  that 
the  testimony,  considered  apart  and  in  itself,  amounts 
to  an  entire  proof;  in  that  case  there  is  proof  against 
proof,  of  which  the  strongest  must  prevail,  but  still 
with  a  diminution  of  its  force  in  proportion  to  that  of 
its  antagonist.  A  miracle  is  a  violation  of  the  laws  of 
nature  ;  and  as  a  firm  and  unalterable  experience  has 
established  these  laws,  the  proof  against  a  miracle,  from 
the  very  nature  of  the  fact,  is  as  entire  as  any  argu¬ 
ment  from  experience  can  possibly  be  imagined." 

Again,  Hume  says,  "  It  is  experience  only  which  gives 
authority  to  human  testimony  ;  and  it  is  the  same  expe¬ 
rience  which  assures  us  of  the  laws  of  nature.  When, 
therefore,  these  two  kinds  of  experience  are  contrary, 
we  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  subtract  the  one  from  the 
other,  and  embrace  an  opinion  either  on  one  side  or  the 
other,  with  that  assurance  which  arises  from  the  re¬ 
mainder.  But,  according  to  the  principle  here  explained, 
this  subtraction,  with  regard  to  all  popular  religions, 
amounts  to  an  entire  annihilation ;  and  therefore  we 
may  establish  it  as  a  maxim,  that  no  human  testimony 
can  have  such  force  as  to  prove  a  miracle,  and  make  it 
a  just  foundation  for  any  such  system  of  religion." 

The  claim  —  no  room  for  it  on  the  ground  of  Theism. 
—  The  claim  here  is,  not  that  we  are  to  be  cautious,  as 
doubtless  we  are,  in  regard  to  all  evidence  for  prodigies 


30 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY . 


and  miracles,  but  that  the  latter  hold  such  a  relation  to 
the  grounds  of  our  belief  that  they  can  not  be  proved 
by  human  testimony.  Let  the  question,  however,  be 
argued,  as  Hume  claims  to  argue  it,  on  the  ground  of 
theism,  and  let  it  be  fairly  stated,  and  it  would  seem 
impossible  that  there  should  be  any  difficulty  respecting 
it.  Do  we  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  personal  God, 
intelligent  and  free  ?  —  not  a  God  who  is  a  part  of  nature, 
or  a  mere  personification  of  the  powers  of  nature,  but 
one  who  is  as  distinct  from  nature  as  the  builder  of  the 
house  is  from  the  house?  Do  we  believe,  with  our  best 
philosophers,  either  that  the  laws  of  nature  are  only 
the  stated  mode  in  which  God  operates ;  or  that  all 
nature,  with  all  its  laws,  is  perfectly  under  his  control? 
Then  we  can  find  no  difficulty  in  believing  that  such  a 
God  may,  at  any  time  when  the  good  of  his  creatures 
requires  it,  change  the  mode  of  his  operation,  and  sus¬ 
pend  those  laws.  Would  Hume  accept  this  statement 
of  the  question?  If  so,  the  dispute  is  at  an  end;  for 
this  relation  of  God  to  nature  involves  the  possibility 
both  of  a  miracle  and  of  its  proof.  It  is  incompatible 
with  this  relation,  that  experience  should  ever  attain 
that  character  of  absolute  and  necessary  uniformity,  in 
virtue  of  which  alone  its  evidence  can  be  set  in  oppo¬ 
sition  to  that  of  testimony.  If  he  would  not  accept 
this  statement,  he  is  an  atheist  or  a  pantheist ;  and  we 
are  not  yet  prepared  to  argue  the  question  of  miracles, 
for  that  can  not  be  argued  till  it  is  fully  conceded  that 
a  personal  God  exists. 

Two  spheres  and  movements  —  the  mind  adapted  to 
both.  —  The  above  seems  to  me  a  sufficient  answer  to  the 
argument  of  Hume.  Our  minds  are  constituted  with 
reference  to  our  position  under  both  the  natural  and 
the  moral  government  of  God.  But  Hume  does  not 
take  the  moral  government  of  God  into  his  account  at 
all.  This  is  his  great  mistake.  It  is  like  the  mistake 


A  DOUBLE  MOVEMENT. 


31 


of  the  astronomer  who  should  carefully  notice  the  recur¬ 
ring  movements  of  the  planets  around  their  primary, 
but  should  fail  to  notice  that  mightier  movement  by 
which,  as  we  are  told,  the  planets  and  suns  are  all  borne 
onward  toward  some  unknown  point  in  infinite  space. 
Experience  may  enable  him  to  determine  and  to  calcu¬ 
late  the  movements  of  the  first  order ;  but  if  he  would 
know  that  of  the  second,  he  must  inquire  of  Him  who 
carries  it  forward.  The  moral  government  of  God  is 
a  movement  in  a  line  onward  toward  some  grand  con¬ 
summation,  in  which  the  principles,  indeed,  are  ever 
the  same,  but  the  developments  are  always  new,  —  in 
wilich,  therefore,  no  experience  of  the  past  can  indicate 
with  certainty  what  new  openings  of  truth,  what  new 
manifestations  of  goodness,  what  new  phases  of  the 
moral  heavens  may  appear.  To  this  movement,  the 
circular  and  uniform  one,  in  which  alone  experience  is 
possible,  is  entirely  subordinate  ;  and  it  accords  with  our 
natural  expectations  and  grounds  of  belief  that  the  less 
important  should  be  flexible  to  the  demands  of  that 
which  is  more  so.  It  is  on  this  double  movement,  and 
the  subordination  of  the  lower,  that  the  high  harmonies 
of  the  universe  depend.  The  constitution  of  our  nature 
is  adapted  to  both  movements  separately,  and  as  related  ; 
and  that  nature  is  true  to  itself  and  to  its  position  when 
men  readily  accept  evidence  for  miraculous  events.  To 
render  such  events  fully  credible,  we  only  need  to 
show  that  they  are  demanded  by  great  moral  interests. 
The  presumption  of  uniformity  is  then  balanced  by  that 
of  interposition,  and  the  full  weight  of  testimony  comes 
in  without  a  counterpoise.  It  is  thus  that  there  is 
provision  for  both  the  scientific  and  the  supernatural 
element ;  and  the  system  that  would  exclude  either  is 
narrow  and  inadequate. 

The  difficulty  with  the  most  of  those  who  have  op¬ 
posed  Hume  has  been,  that  they  have  permitted  him, 


32 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY, 


while  arguing  the  question  ostensibly  on  the  ground  of 
theism,  to  involve  positions  that  are  really  atheistic. 
They  have  permitted  him  to  give,  surreptitiously,  to 
the  mere  laws  of  nature  a  sacredness  and  a  permanence 
which  put  them  in  the  place  of  God.  If  we  grant  to 
Hume  that  the  laws  of  nature  are  absolutely  uniform, 
we  preclude,  of  course,  all  proof  for  a  miracle.  This 
is  really,  though  not  avowedly,  the  essential  premise 
by  which  he  attempts  to  show  that  a  miracle  can  not  be 
proved  by  testimony ;  and  whoever  grants  him  this, 
grants  the  very  point  in  dispute.  The  laws  of  nature, 
when  once  it  is  conceded  that  they  are  invariable,  are  of 
equal  authority ;  and  it  is  in  vain  to  attempt  to  inval¬ 
idate  the  authority  of  one  by  bringing  against  it  that  of 
another,  by  whatever  amount  of  induction  it  may  have 
been  established. 

Reply  of  Dr.  Chalmers.  —  This  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  perceived  by  Dr.  Chalmers  in  his  very  elab¬ 
orate  attempt  to  refute  the  argument  of  Hume.  He 
grants  that  the  laws  of  nature  are  uniform,  and  says 
that  there  are  laws  of  testimony  that  are  a  part  of  the 
laws  of  nature,  as  uniform  as  any  other,  and  that  there 
are  certain  kinds  of  testimony  in  regard  to  which  the 
uniform  experience  is,  that  they  do  not  deceive  us  ;  and 
then  he  goes  on  to  show,  with  great  power,  how  the  force 
of  testimony  may  be  accumulated  so  as  to  ovei  balance 
any  improbability  whatever.  I  admit  fully  all  that  he 
says  on  the  force  of  testimony.  But  let  its  force  be 
ever  so  great,  if  it  were  a  fact  that  no  testimony  was 
ever  known  to  deceive  us,  yet  even  then,  if  we  admit 
the  premise  of  Hume  as  he  would  have  it  understood, 
we  only  balance  uniform  experience  against  uniform 
experience,  and  thus  produce  the  very  case  of  perplexity 
spoken  of  by  him.  Chalmers  saw  with  great  clearness 
the  overwhelming  force  of  testimony  as  proof.  He 
gays,  in  opposition  to  Campbell  and  others,  that  our 


TESTIMONY  AND  EXPERIENCE. 


33 


belief  in  testimony  is  founded  solely  in  experience,  and 
that  there  are  certain  kinds  of  testimony  of  which  we 
have  uniform  experience  that  they  do  not  deceive  us. 
But  he  failed  to  see  that  no  uniform  experience  of  the 
truth  of  testimony  could  prove  a  fact  that  had  been 
already  admitted  to  be  contrary  to  "  a  firm  and  unal¬ 
terable  experience.”  "A  firm  and  unalterable  experi¬ 
ence  ”  of  the  truth  of  testimony,  can  never  prove  a  fact 
which  can  lie  fairly  shown  to  be  contrary  to  another 
"firm  and  unalterable  experience.” 

The  argument  of  Hume  is  not  avowedly  against  the 
possibility  of  miracles,  though,  as  he  must,  if  he  would 
not  beg  the  question,  he  constantly  insinuates,  and 
implies  in  his  definitions,  that  they  are  impossible.  The 
avowed  argument  is  against  the  possibility  of  the  proof 
of  miracles  by  testimony. 

Testimony  and  experience  not  in  conflict.  — But  if  we 
allow  the  possibility  of  a  miracle,  the  authority  of  testi¬ 
mony  and  of  experience  can  not  be  fairly  set  against  each 
other,  because  one  is  positive  and  the  other  negative. 
Experience  can  not  prove  a  negative.  It  can  not  tes¬ 
tify  that  a  miracle  has  not  taken  place.  That  is  the 
point  in  question,  and  to  prove  it,  would  require  the 
positive  testimony  of  every  human  being  who  has  lived 
from  the  beginning  of  time.  Had  Hume  been  asked 
why  he  believed  the  course  of  nature  to  be  absolutely 
uniform,  he  must  have  answered  that  he  believed  it  on 
the  ground  of  experience.  And  then,  if  asked  how  he 
knew  what  that  experience  had  been,  he  must  have 
replied,  by  testimony,  for  there  is  no  other  possible 
way.  And  thus  it  would  appear  that,  while  he  seems 
to  oppose  the  evidence  of  experience  to  that  of  testi¬ 
mony,  he  is  only  opposing  the  evidence  of  testimony  to 
that  of  testimony.  And  what  would  the  testimony  on 
the  side  of  Hume  amount  to  in  such  a  case?  Why, 
absolutely  nothing,  because  it  is,  as  has  been  said. 


34 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY . 


negative.  Let  a  thousand  men  swear,  in  a  court  of  jus¬ 
tice,  that  they  did  not  see  a  murder  committed,  and  it 
will  not  diminish  in  the  least  the  force  of  the  testimony 
of  one  man  who  swears  that  he  did  see  it,  unless  the 
thousand  pretend  to  have  been  on  the  spot,  and  to  have 
had  opportunity  to  witness  it.  In  this  case,  the  expe¬ 
rience  of  the  thousand  men  would  be  properly  said  to 
be  contrary  to  that  of  the  one.  But  in  no  such  sense 
can  experience  be  said  to  be  contrary  to  the  testimony 
for  miracles.  If  any  number  of  men,  if  the  whole 
race,  —  with  the  exception  of  those  who  had  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  see,  and  who  did  see,  a  miracle,  —  should  tes¬ 
tify  that  they  did  not  see  it,  that  would  not  invalidate,  in 
the  least,  the  testimony  of  those  who  did  see  it.  We 
should  judge  of  that  testimony  on  its  own  proper 
merits. 

Thus  stands  the  argument,  if,  with  Hume,  we  place 
our  belief  in  the  uniformity  of  nature  on  the  ground  of 
experience.  But  is  this  really  the  ground  of  that  belief? 
I  think  not.  Nor  can  I  agree  with  Stewart  and  other 
metaphysicians,  who  place  "the  expectation  of  the  con¬ 
tinued  uniformity  of  the  laws  of  nature  ”  among  what 
they  call  the  fundamental  laws  of  belief,  which  we  be¬ 
lieve  in  necessarily,  and  without  reference  to  experience. 
This  is  not  the  place  for  the  full  discussion  of  this  point. 
I  merely  observe  that,  so  far  is  this  from  being  to  the 
mind  a  law  of  belief,  to  the  exclusion  of  supernatural 
agency,  that  narrations  of  such  agency  have  been  re¬ 
ceived  in  all  ages  upon  the  slightest  evidence  ;  and 
that,  if  this  were  the  law,  then  no  man  ought  to  believe, 
or  could  believe,  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  or  a 
future  judgment,  or  in  the  destruction  or  change  of  the 
present  order  of  nature  in  any  way  whatever.  The 

difficulty  lies  in  an  incautious  and  narrow  statement  of 
*/ 

the  true  law.  The  true  law  of  belief  is,  that  the  same 


PARTICULAR  FALLACIES. 


35 


causes  will,  in  the  same  circumstances,  produce  the 
same  effects.  This  is  the  law ;  and  when  applied  to 
the  permanence  or  uniformity  of  the  course  of  nature, 
it  will  stand  thus  .*  The  present  course  of  nature  will 
be  uniform  and  permanent,  unless  other  causes  than 
those  now  in  operation  shall  intervene  to  interrupt  or 
destroy  it.  The  probability  of  the  intervention  of  such 
causes  is  a  point  on  which  every  man  must  decide  for 
himself.  To  me  it  seems  probable— to  you,  perhaps, 
improbable ;  but  there  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  the 
case  to  prevent  it  from  being  proved,  like  any  other 
fact. 

Having  thus  put  this  question  upon  its  true  basis,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  say  very  little  of  the  particular 
fallacies  and  consequences  connected  with  the  argument 
of  Hume.  I  will  simply  add,  that,  — 

Hume's  argument  is  a  practical  absurdity . —  1.  Ac¬ 
cording  to  Hume,  the  very  fact  that  renders  a  miracle 
possible,  must  render  the  proof  of  it  impossible.  With¬ 
out  a  settled  uniformity,  a  miracle  could  not  be  con¬ 
ceived  ;  with  it,  according  to  him,  it  can  not  be  proved. 
To  suppose  that  the  mind  can  be  placed  in  such  a 
relation  as  this  to  any  possible  truth,  is  a  practical 
absurdity. 

Would  contradict  the  senses.  —  2.  The  argument  of 
Hume  proceeds  on  a  principle  which  would  make  it 
unreasonable  to  believe  a  miracle  on  the  testimony  of 
the  senses.  There  is  precisely  the  same  reason  for 
opposing  the  evidence  of  experience  to  that  of  the 
senses,  as  for  opposing  it  to  that  of  testimony.  If  the 
argument  would  overthrow  a  "  full  proof  ”  from  testi¬ 
mony,  the  senses,  standing  as  they  do  in  the  same  rela¬ 
tion  to  experience,  could  give  nothing  more. 

Begs  the  question. — 3.  Hume  begs  the  question. 
The  only  way  in  which  a  miracle  can  be  a  violation  of 


36 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


the  course  of  nature,  or  contrary  to  experience,  is,  that 
it  never  happened,  and  was  never  observed ;  for  if  it 
had  happened,  and  had  been  observed,  then  it  would 
constitute  a  paid  of  universal  experience.  But  to  say 
that  a  "  violation,”  or,  more  properly,  a  suspension  of 
the  laws  of  nature  never  happened,  because  those  laws 
are  uniform,  and  to  define  a  miracle  as  something 
"  that  has  never  been  observed  in  any  age  or  country,” 
is  taking  for  granted  the  very  point  in  dispute.  It  is 
\s  bald  and  barefaced  a  begging  of  the  question  as  can 
well  be  imagined.  "  But,”  says  Hume,  "it  is  a  miracle 
that  a  dead  man  should  come  to  life,  because  that  has 
never  happened  in  any  age  or  country.  There  must 
therefore  be  a  uniform  experience  against  every  mi¬ 
raculous  event ;  otherwise  the  event  would  not  merit 
that  appellation.”  Is  this  reasoning? 

lie  uses  "  experience”  in  two  senses.  —  4.  Hume  uses 
the  term  experience  in  two  senses.  Personal  experience 
is  the  knowledge  we  have  acquired  by  our  own  senses. 
General  experience  is  that  knowledge  of  facts  which 
has  been  acquired  by  the  race.  If,  therefore,  Hume 
says  a  miracle  is  contrary  to  his  personal  experience, 
that  proves  nothing;  but  if  he  says  it  is  opposed  to 
universal  experience,  that,  as  has  already  been  said,  is 
begging  the  question. 

Simply  opposes  testimony  to  testimony.  —  5.  He 
opposes  the  evidence  of  experience  to  that  of  testi¬ 
mony,  evidently  with  the  intention  of  opposing  to 
testimony  the  high  authority  that  belongs  to  personal 
experience  ;  whereas,  in  the  sense  in  which  he  must  use 
the  term  "  experience,”  —  since,  as  has  been  said,  we  can 
know  what  general  experience  is  only  by  testimony,  — 
he  is  only  opposing  testimony  to  testimony. 

Renounced  by  Hume.  — And,  finally,  Hume  has  him¬ 
self  renounced  the  principle  of  his  own  argument.  He 


ADMISSIONS  BY  HUME. 


37 


seems  to  have  had  a  perception  of  some  of  the  absurd 
consequences  to  which  it  must  lead,  and  therefore  adds, 
"  I  beg  the  limitations  here  may  he  remarked  when  I 
say,  that  a  miracle  can  never  be  proved  so  as  to  be  the 
foundation  of  a  system  of  religion.  For  I  own  that 
otherwise  there  may  possibly  be  miracles,  or  violations 
of  the  usual  course  of  nature,  of  such  a  kind  as  to 
admit  of  proof  from  human  testimony.”  This  single 
admission  destroys  at  once  the  whole  force  of  his  argu¬ 
ment.  As  an  example,  he  says,  ”  Suppose  all  authors, 
in  all  languages,  agree  that  from  the  1st  of  January, 
1600,  there  was  a  total  darkness  over  the  whole  earth  for 
eight  days ;  suppose  that  the  tradition  of  this  extraor¬ 
dinary  event  is  still  strong  and  lively  among  the  people  ; 
that  all  travelers  who  return  from  foreign  countries 
bring  us  accounts  of  the  same  tradition,  without  the  least 
variation  or  contradiction  ;  it  is  evident  that  our  present 
philosophers,  instead  of  doubting  the  fact,  ought  to 
receive  it  as  certain.”  "But,”  he  adds,  with  reference, 
however,  to  another  example,  "  should  this  miracle  be 
ascribed  to  any  new  system  of  religion,  men  in  all  ages 
have  been  so  imposed  upon  by  ridiculous  stories  of  that 
kind,  that  the  very  circumstance  would  be  full  proof  of 
a  cheat,  and  sufficient,  with  all  men  of  sense,  not  only 
to  make  them  reject  the  fact,  but  to  reject  it  without 
further  examination.”  On  the  consistency  and  candor 
of  this  passage  I  make  no  comment.  As  showing  a 
tendency  of  our  nature,  the  argument  is  just  the  re¬ 
verse.  Who,  after  reading  this,  can  fail  to  feel  that 
Hume  was  guilty  of  a  heartless,  if  not  a  malignant 
trilling  with  the  best  interests  of  his  fellow-men  ? 

Summary. — Thus,  after  mentioning  the  classes  of 
persons  whom  I  shall  hope  to  benefit  ,  I  have  endeavored 
to  show,  first,  that  you,  my  hearers,  are  responsible 
for  the  manner  in  which  you  use  your  understandings, 
and  for  the  opinions  you  form  on  this  great  subject. 

c 


38 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


And,  secondly,  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  nature  or 
kind  of  evidence  by  which  Christianity  is  sustained, 
nor  in  any  conflict  of  the  evidence  of  experience  and 
of  testimony,  to  prevent  us  from  attaining  that  certainty 
upon  which  we  may  rest  as  upon  the  rock,  and  which 
shall  constitute,  if  not  "the  assurance  of  faith,”  yet  the 
assurance  of  understanding. 


LECTURE  II. 


PRELIMINARY  OBSERVATIONS.  —  REVELATION  PROBABLE:  FIRST, 
FROM  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  CASE;  SECONDLY,  FROM  FACTS.— 
PROBABILITY  OF  MIRACLES.  ASIDE  FROM  THEIR  EFFECT  IN 
SUSTAINING  ANY  PARTICULAR  REVELATION.  —  CONNECTION 
BETWEEN  THE  MIRACLE  AND  THE  DOCTRINE.  —  THE  CHRISTIAN 
RELIGION,  OR  NONE. 

The  Christian  religion  admits  of  certain  proof ;  and 
to  show  this  was  one  object  of  the  last  lecture.  But, 
in  searching  for  that  proof,  we  may  proceed  in  two  dif¬ 
ferent  methods.  We  may  either  try  the  facts  in  ques¬ 
tion  by  the  laws  of  evidence,  precisely  as  we  would  any 
other  facts  ;  or  we  may  judge  beforehand  of  their  prob¬ 
ability  or  improbability.  In  the  first  case,  we  shoidd 
allow  nothing  for  what  we  might  suppose  previous  prob¬ 
ability  or  improbability,  nothing  for  the  nature  of  the 
facts  as  miraculous  or  common.  We  should  hold  our¬ 
selves  in  the  position  of  an  impartial  jury,  bound  to  de¬ 
cide  solely  according  to  the  evidence.  This  course  alone 
is  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  inductive  philoso¬ 
phy,  which  decides  nothing  on  the  ground  of  previous 
hypothesis,  but  yields  itself  entirely  to  the  guidance  of 
facts  properly  authenticated,  and  refuses  no  conclusion 
which  the  existence  of  those  facts  necessarily  involves. 
Let  those  who  are  to  judge  of  Christianity  approach  it 
in  this  spirit,  and  we  are  content. 

Need  of  the  philosophic  spirit. — And  surely,  if  this 
spirit  was  demanded  when  the  processes  of  nature  only 

were  in  question,  —  and  the  whole  history  of  humac 

(39) 


40 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


conjecture  there  is  but  the  history  of  weakness  and 
folly,  so  that  science  made  no  progress  till  facts  estab¬ 
lished  by  proper  evidence  were  received  without  refer¬ 
ence  to  hypothesis,  —  much  more  must  this  same  spirit 
be  demanded  when  the  procedure  of  God  in  his  moral 
government  is  concerned.  On  such  a  subject,  nothing 
can  be  more  contrary  to  that  wise  caution  which  adheres 
to  facts,  and  balances  evidence,  and  keeps  the  mind  open 
to  conviction,  than  to  come  to  a  decision  under  the 
influence  of  a  prejudication  of  the  case  on  the  ground 
of  any  antecedent  improbability. 

Spirit  of  the  age  —  tendency  to  reaction.  —  But, 
unphilosophical  as  such  a  course  plainly  is,  it  springs 
directly  from  the  spirit  of  the  age.  The  human  mind, 
in  its  constant  oscillations  between  the  extremes  of 
credulity  and  skepticism,  is  now  ranging  somewhere  on 
the  side  of  skepticism.  There  was  a  time,  both  before 
and  after  the  revival  of  letters,  when  a  belief  in  fre¬ 
quent  supernatural  agency  was  common.  But  when 
many  things,  supposed  to  be  owing  to  supernatural 
influence,  were  referred,  by  the  light  of  science,  to  nat¬ 
ural  causes,  and  a  large  class  of  superstitions  was  thus 
expelled,  then  men  passed  to  the  other  extreme,  and  it 
became  weak  and  superstitious  to  believe  even  in  the 
possibility  of  any  other  causes  than  those  that  were  nat¬ 
ural.  It  was  the  progress  of  this  feeling  toward  the 
utmost  limits  of  skepticism,  that  was  called  by  many 
the  progress  of  light  in  the  world ;  and  it  was  taken 
advantage  of,  and  urged  on,  by  skeptics,  in  every  possi¬ 
ble  way.  But  a  general  tendency  of  the  human  mind 
is  never  altogether  deceptive.  It  is  the  indication  of 
some  great  truth.  This  is  so  with  the  tendency  of  man, 
admitted  even  by  Hume,  to  believe  in  supernatural 
agency.  And  when  the  reaction  is  over,  and  men  set¬ 
tle  down  in  the  light  of  a  large  experience,  it  will  be 
readily  conceded,  I  doubt  not,  that,  while  the  gen- 


GROUND  OF  PROBABILITY. 


41 


eral  course  of  nature  is  uniform,  so  as  to  lay  a  foun¬ 
dation  for  experience,  and  give  it  value,  there  is  also 
something  in  the  system  to  meet  our  tendency  to 
believe  in  that  which  is  supernatural ;  that  there  are 
powers,  higher  than  those  of  nature,  connected  with 
the  natural  and  moral  administration  of  the  universe, 
that  may  interfere  for  the  welfare  of  man. 

Facts  to  rest  on  evidence. — But,  however  this  may 
be  hereafter,  it  is  not  so  now.  The  legitimate  force 
of  the  evidence  for  Christianity  is  constantly  neutral¬ 
ized  by  assertions,  purely  hypothetical,  of  the  improb¬ 
ability  of  the  facts.  Now,  we  admit  of  no  such  im¬ 
probability.  We  hold  that  no  man  has  a  right  to  con¬ 
struct  a  metaphysical  balance  in  which  he  shall  place 
an  hypothesis  of  his  own  as  a  counterpoise  for  one 
particle  of  valid  evidence.  To  do  it,  is  to  go  back  into 
the  dark  ages.  It  is  to  apply,  in  religion,  maxims  long 
since  discarded  in  physics.  It  is,  therefore,  out  of  a 
regard  to  the  exigencies  of  the  time,  and  not  because 
I  think  it  essential  to  the  Christian  argument,  that  I 
proceed  to  adduce  some  considerations  to  show  the 
antecedent  probability  of  a  revelation  from  God. 

Probability  —  how  judged  of.  —  To  judge  of  the 
probability  of  any  event,  we  must  know  something  of 
its  causes,  or  of  the  intentions  of  the  agent  who  may 
produce  it.  If  we  know  nothing  of  these,  we  have  no 
right  to  say,  of  any  event,  that  it  is  probable  or  im¬ 
probable.  If  we  know  all  the  causes  that  are  at  work, 
or  all  the  intentions  of  the  agents  employed,  we  can 
foretell  with  certainty  what  will  take  place.  It  is  ob¬ 
vious  ,  therefore,  that  an  event  which  may  seem  highly 
probable  to  one  man,  or,  perhaps,  nearly  certain,  may 
seem  to  another  altogether  improbable.  So  sensible, 
however,  are  most  persons  of  their  ignorance  of  the 
causes,  and  agents,  and  purposes,  that  may  exist  in  this 
complex  and  wonderful  universe,  that  it  requires  but  a 


42 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


slight  amount  of  evidence  to  substantiate  events  of 
which  we  should  have  said,  beforehand,  that  the  chances 
against  them  were  as  a  million  to  one.  Especially  is 
this  the  case  when  the  actions  of  a  free  agent  are  con¬ 
cerned,  and  when  we  are  but  slightly  acquainted  with 
his  character  and  purposes. 

But  this  is  precisely  the  case  before  us.  The  question 
is,  whether  it  was  probable,  beforehand,  that  God 
would  give  a  revelation  to  man.  Of  this  we  can  judge 
only  as  we  are  acquainted  with  the  character  of  God, 
and  the  emergency  requiring  his  special  interposition. 
That  he  could  give  such  a  revelation,  and  confirm  it  by 
miracles,  every  theist  must  admit ;  and  the  simple  ques¬ 
tion  is,  whether,  as  a  free  Agent  and  a  moral  Governor, 
(for  I  acknowledge  no  man  as  a  theist  who  does  not 
admit  these  two  characters  of  God,)  he  would  think  it 
best  to  give  a  revelation. 

Objection.  — I  know  it  is  said,  by  some,  that  this  is 
ground  on  which  we  ought  not  to  tread.  God,  they 
say,  is  an  infinite  Being,  and  the  complexity  of  his 
plans,  and  the  range  of  his  operations,  must  be  so 
great  that  it  wTould  be  presumption  in  creatures  like  us, 
creatures  of  a  day,  dwelling  in  this  remote  corner  of 
the  universe,  to  judge  what  would,  or  would  not,  be 
probable  under  his  government.  Far  better  might  the 
little  child,  yet  learning  its  alphabet,  judge  of  the  prob¬ 
abilities  respecting  the  purposes  and  actions  of  the 
Government  of  these  United  States. 

What  follows  ?  —  That  this  is  sometimes  said  sin¬ 
cerely  I  am  not  disposed  to  deny ;  but  there  is  often 
connected  with  it  a  fallacy  which  is  by  no  means  harm¬ 
less.  Admit,  then,  the  justice  of  it  all ;  and  what  will 
follow  ?  An  argument  against  the  probability  of  a  rev¬ 
elation?  Certainly  not.  It  will  simply  follow  that  we 
can  not  tell  whether  a  revelation  w^ould  be  probable  or 
improbable ;  and  then  a  candid  man  will  judge  of  the 


INCONSISTENCY  OF  OBJECTORS. 


43 


evidence  for  a  revelation  just  as  he  would  of  that  for 
any  other  event.  And  this  is  all  we  desire.  Let  no 
antecedent  improbability  be  assumed,  and  we  are  will¬ 
ing  to  go  at  once  to  the  evidence  and  the  facts. 

Objectors  do  that  to  which  they  object.  —  But  is  this 
the  state  of  mind  of  those  who  speak  of  man  as  thus 
ignorant?  Is  it  their  object  to  produce  such  a  state  of 
mind?  I  think  not,  but  rather  to  bring  doubt  and 
uncertainty  over  the  whole  subject.  It  is  assumed  that 
we  are  ignorant  of  the  purposes  of  God,  and  then,  from 
that  ignorance,  the  improbability  of.  a  revelation  is 
argued.  But  it  seems  to  be  forgotten  that  we  need 
previous  knowledge,  to  judge  of  the  improbability,  no 
less  than  of  the  probability,  of  events  ;  and  while  these 
persons  shrink  back  with  a  pious  horror  from  the  pre¬ 
sumption  of  judging  what  God  might  or  might  not  do, 
they  covertly  assume  a  knowledge  of  his  purposes,  or 
at  least  of  what  he  probably  will  not  do  in  a  given  case. 
We  say,  that  whoever  affirms  it  is  improbable  that  God 
would  give  a  revelation,  assumes,  in  proportion  to  his 
confidence,  a  knowledge  of  the  previous  plans  and  pur¬ 
poses  of  God ;  and  then  we  ask  him  where  he  obtained 
that  knowledge.  God  has  not  told  him  so,  for  that 
would  be  a  revelation.  He  can  not  know  it  from  expe¬ 
rience,  for  the  case  stands  by  itself.  We  have  no  ex¬ 
perience  of  what  God  does  with  his  creatures,  if  such 
there  are,  similarly  situated  in  other  worlds.  The  uni¬ 
form  course  of  nature  can  be  no  objection,  for  the  very 
question  at  issue  is,  whether  that  course  shall  be  sus¬ 
pended.  It  is  admitted  that  God  can  do  it  with  perfect 
ease  ;  and  how  can  such  a  man  know  that  the  exigencies 
of  his  moral  government  may  not  require  it? 

JShot  wholly  ignorant.  —  I  am,  however,  far  from 
assenting  to  what  is  thus  said  of  our  ignorance  on  this 
subject.  If  we  use  the  term  "  beforehand  ”  in  the 
strictest  and  highest  sense,  perhaps  it  would  be  pre- 


44 


.EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


sumption  in  us  to  judge  what  God  would  do.  But,  in 
all  our  arguments  respecting  Christianity,  we  take  for 
granted  the  great  truths  of  natural  religion.  We  have 
some  knowledge  of  God,  and  of  his  providential  deal¬ 
ings  with  the  race  ;  and  it  is  not  presumption  in  us  to 
say  whether  it  would  he  in  accordance  with  that  char¬ 
acter,  so  far  as  known,  and  analogous  with  his  dealings 
in  other  respects,  if  he  should  give  to  man  a  revelation. 
This  is  the  true  question.  Is  there  any  thing  in  what 
we  know  positively  of  the  character  of  God,  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  condition  of  man,  that  would  render  it 
probable  or  improbable  that  he  would  give  a  revelation  ? 

Probability  of  a  revelation  —  God  a  father.  —  And. 
why  should  he  not?  I  know  not  why  it  should  be  con¬ 
sidered  so  strange  a  thing  that  God  should  make  a  rev¬ 
elation  to  man.  If  1  mistake  not,  it  would  have  been 
much  stranger  if  he  had  not.  It  may  be  strange  that 
he  should  have  created  the  world  at  all,  or  put  such  a 
being  as  man  upon  it ;  but  if  we  believe  that  God  made 
him  with  a  rational  and  a  religious  nature — a  child  — 
capable  of  communion  with  him,  and  of  finding  in  him 
only  the  highest  source  of  happiness  and  means  of  moral 
perfection,- — then  it  would  be  exceedingly  strange  if 
God  should  not  reveal  himself  to  him.  Shall  not  a 
father  speak  to  his  own  child  ?  ' 

Communion  with  God  needed — not  a  strange  thing. — 
It  is  demonstrable,  on  the  principles  of  reason,  that,  if 
man  had  continued  in  a  state  of  innocence,  the  high¬ 
est  progress,  and  expansion,  and  felicity  of  his  nature 
could  not  have  been  attained  except  by  communion  with 
God,  Man  becomes  assimilated  to  that  with  which  he 
voluntarily  holds  communion.  And  since  God  is  the 
fountain  of  all  excellence,  why  should  he  not  communi¬ 
cate  himself  to  an  innocent  creature  whom  he  had  made 
with  faculties  to  know,  and  love,  and  enjoy  him?  In 
the  original  and  highest  sense  of  the  word,  a  state  of 


REVELATION  NOT  STRANGE. 


45 


nature  is  a  state  of  direct  intercourse  with  God.  Ac¬ 
cordingly,  the  Bible,  instead  of  regarding  it,  as  infidels, 
and,  I  must  say,  many  divines,  do,  as  a  strange  thing 
that  God  should  hold  communion  with  men,  speaks  of 
it  as  a  matter  of  course ;  and  the  traditions  of  all 
nations  have  connected  with  an  age  of  innocence  the 
frequent  intercourse  of  man  with  the  gods.  There 
is  nothing,  either  in  the  nature  of  the  case  or  in  the 
instincts  of  humanity,  to  give  rise  to  that  strangeness 
with  which  infidels  have  invested  a  revelation  from 
God;  but  the  reverse.  It  is  strange  that  man  is  at  all. 
It  is  strange  that  God  is.  In  one  sense,  every  thing  is 
strange,  and  equally  so.  But  supposing  God  to  be, 
and  to  make  such  a  creature  as  man,  it  is  not  strange  that 
he  should  make  a  revelation  to  him.  Indeed,  to  sup¬ 
pose  God  to  make  man  a  being  capable  of  religion, 
requiring  it  in  order  to  the  development  of  the  highest 
part  of  his  nature,  and  then  not  to  communicate  with 
him,  as  a  father,  in  those  revelations  which  alone  could 
perfect  that  nature,  would  be  a  reproach  upon  God,  and 
a  contradiction. 

Nor,  even  in  a  state  of  innocence,  would  the  revela¬ 
tion  of  God  in  his  works  have  been  sufficient,  since  in 
them  he  reveals  chiefly  his  natural  attributes,  and  not 
that  holiness  and  perfection  of  moral  character  from 
which  the  great  obligations,  and  interests,  and  duties, 
and  the  high  delights  of  his  service,  are  derived.  Even 
now  we  sometimes  find  a  man  groping  about  this  rigid 
framework  of  general  laws,  and  exclaiming,  "  O  that  I 
knew  where  I  might  find  him  !  that  I  might  come  even 
to  his  seat !  ”  and  how  much  less  would  man  in  a  state 
of  innocence  have  been  satisfied  without  direct  commu¬ 
nion  with  God !  The  highest  and  most  natural  concep¬ 
tion  of  the  universe  is  that  which  makes  God  the  Father 
of  his  rational  and  spiritual  creatures,  which  constitutes 
them  a  family,  and  which  implies  communication  be- 


4-6 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


tween  him  and  them  as  personal  beings,  he  making 
known  his  will  and  character,  and  they  obeying  and 
adoring  him. 

Effects  of  sin  —  ground  of  hope. — If,  indeed,  an 
innocent  being  should  sin,  we  could  not  say  beforehand 
what  would  be  done.  We  should  naturally  expect  that 
justice  would  have  its  course.  But,  looking  at  the  race 
as  it  is,  evidently  favored  by  God  to  some  extent,  vis¬ 
ited  by  his  rain  and  sunshine  and  by  fruitful  seasons, 
we  should  have  as  much  reason  to  think,  from  the 
nature  and  position  of  man,  that  there  would  be  such 
a  thing  as  true  religion  on  the  earth,  as  that  there  would 
be  such  a  thing  as  true  science  upon  the  earth.  Foi 
that  man  has  a  moral  and  a  religious  nature  is  as  evident 
as  that  he  has  an  intellectual  nature.  Wherever  he  is 
found  he  makes  the  distinction  between  right  and  wrong, 
and  worships  some  superior  being.  If  there  have  been 
a  few  who  have  professed  themselves  atheists,  and  we 
were  to  give  them  that  credit  for  entire  sincerity  which 
many  facts  would  lead  us  to  withhold,  this  would  no 
more  prove  that  man  has  not  a  religious  nature,  than 
the  fact  that  a  few  men  have  overcome  the  social  iiv 
stinct,  and  withdrawn  from  society,  proves  that  he  has 
not  a  social  nature. 

Religious  nature  central.  — Nor  are  these  principles, 
which  thus  lead  man  to  anticipate  future  retribution, 
and  to  recognize  superior  powers,  merely  secondary,  or 
subordinate  to  others.  They  are  peculiarly  those  by 
which  man  is  distinguished  from  the  brute.  They  are 
those,  as  shown  by  all  history,  in  connection  with  the 
cultivation  and  full  development  of  which,  all  the  other 
powers  of  man  reach  their  highest  perfection ;  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  perversion  and  debasement  of  which, 
all  the  other  powers  are  ill  regulated  and  dwarfed.  So 
effective,  indeed,  has  the  influence  of  these  principles 
been  felt  to  be ,  that  all  former  governments  have  sought 


RELIGION  INERADICABLE. 


47 


their  aid,  and  have  endeavored  to  associate  the  power 
of  religion  with  that  of  the  temporal  arm.  It  has  been 
from  these  principles,  rather  than  from  any  others,  that 
motives  to  high  resolve,  and  long  endurance,  and  vol¬ 
untary  poverty,  and  a  martyr’s  sufferings,  have  been 
drawn.  Remove  from  the  history  of  the  past  all  those 
actions  which  have  either  sprung  directly  from  the 
religious  nature  of  man,  or  been  modified  by  it,  and  you 
have  the  history  of  another  world  and  of  another  race. 

Ineradicable. — I  know  the  manifestations  of  this 
principle  have  been  exceedingly  various,  and  sometimes 
as  whimsical  and  debasing  as  can  well  be  conceived. 
There  is  no  absurdity  which  men  have  not  received,  no 
austerity  which  they  have  not  practiced,  no  earthly 
good,  and  no  natural  affection,  which  they  have  not 
sacrificed,  in  the  name  of  religion  ;  and  the  very  variety 
and  absurdity  of  religious  rites,  with  the  sincerity  of 
men  in  them  all,  has  been  made,  and  still  is,  a  capital 
argument  of  infidels  to  show  that  there  is  nothing  in 
any  religion.  But  it  has  been  well  replied,  that  "the 
more  strange  the  contradictions,  and  the  more  ludicrous 
the  ceremonies,  to  which  the  pride  of  human  reason  has 
been  reconciled,  the  stronger  is  our  evidence  that  reli¬ 
gion  has  a  foundation  in  the  nature  of  man.”  *  Indeed, 
no  fact  can  be  better  established,  both  by  philosophy 
and  by  history,  than  that  mankind  are  so  constituted 
that  they  must  have  some  religion.  Man  has  a  religious 
nature,  which  is  a  fundamental  and  elementary  constit¬ 
uent  of  his  being.  This  nature  will  manifest  itself. 
Let  the  true  religion  be  removed,  and  a  false  one  will 
come  in  its  place.  This  is  a  truth,  the  clear  perception 
of  which  by  the  public  mind  I  deem  of  great  impor¬ 
tance  ;  for  if  society  is  to  make  progress,  it  must  be 
by  cultivating  the  faculties  that  belong  to  human  nature, 
and  not  by  attempting  to  eradicate  them ;  and  hence  all 


*  Stewart. 


48 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


indiscriminate  attacks  upon  religion,  as  such,  must 
retard  that  progress. 

Its  right  exercise  possible.  —  Man,  then,  has  a  reli¬ 
gious  nature  ;  and  what  purpose  could  a  wise  and  good 
Being  have,  in  sustaining  the  race,  which  would  not 
involve  the  right  exercise  of  this  nature,  in  view  of  its 
appropriate  objects?  And  to  suppose  that  God.  has 
furnished  man  with  no  such  object  to  draw  that  nature 
out,  is  like  supposing  that  he  would  create  the  eye  with¬ 
out  light  or  the  ear  without  sound,  or  that  he  would 
place  man,  as  an  intellectual  being,  in  a  world  of  such 
disorder  that  no  arrangement  or  classification,  and  con¬ 
sequently  no  science,  would  be  possible.  The  whole 
analogy  of  God’s  works,  and  of  his  dealings  with  men, 
shows  that,  if  man  has  a  religious  nature,  we  might 
expect  to  find  the  right  exercise  of  that  nature  possible, 
and  that  there  would  be  such  a  thing  as  true  religion  in 
the  world. 

Only  through  a  revelation.  — But  if  a  rational  being, 
capable  of  religion,  had  lost  the  moral  image,  and  con¬ 
sequently  the  true  knowledge  of  God,  and  it  should  be 
the  object  of  God  to  restore  him,  it  could  be  done  in 
no  other  way  than  by  a  direct  revelation.  This  is 
obvious  from  two  reasons.  First,  there  would  be  some 
things  which  it  would  be  indispensable  for  such  a  being 
to  know,  and  which  he  could  not  know  except  by  a 
direct  communication.  They  are  of  such  a  kind  that 
nature  can  have  no  voice,  no  utterance,  no  whisper , 
respecting  them.  Such  would  be  an  answer  to  the 
inquiry,  whether  God  would  pardon  sin  at  all,  and,  if 
so,  upon  what  conditions.  And,  secondly,  it  is  not 
possible  that  a  sinful  being  should  be  restored  to  God, 
to  purity,  and  love,  except  by  some  manifestation  to 
him  of  the  purity  and  love  of  God  such  as  nature  does 
not  give.  So  far  as  we  can  see,  there  must  be  brought 
into  operation  that  great  principle  of  moral  assimilation 


THE  TRIAL  MADE. 


49 


mentioned  by  the  apostle  when  he  says,  "We  all, 
beholding,  as  in  a  glass,  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are 
changed  into  the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glory." 
If,  then,  it  was  probable  that  God  would  do  any  thing 
to  restore  a  race  of  transgressors  to  himself,  it  was  in 
the  same  degree  probable  that  he  would  give  a  revela¬ 
tion  different  from  any  that  nature  can  possibly  give. 
So  far  as  we  can  see,  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to 
do  it  in  any  other  way. 

Shown  by  experience.  —  And  what  we  might  thus 
infer,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  is  amply  confirmed 
by  an  appeal  to  facts.  An  impartial  survey  of  the  con¬ 
dition  of  those  portions  of  the  earth  that  have  been 
without  the  li<dit  of  revelation,  shows  conclusivelv 
that  the  reformation  of  man  was  hopeless  without  it. 
A  full  and  fair  experiment  has  been  made.  It  has  ex¬ 
tended  through  thousands  of  years,  and  ample  time  has 
been  given  to  test  every  principle,  to  follow  out  every 
tendency  to  its  results,  to  call  forth  every  inherent 
energy  of  man.  It  has  been  made  in  every  climate,  under 
every  form  of  government,  in  all  circumstances  of  bar¬ 
barism  and  refinement,  by  individuals  who,  for  intel¬ 
lectual  endowments,  have  been  the  pride  of  the  race, 
and  by  nations  who  have  made  the  greatest  advance¬ 
ment  in  literature,  in  science,  and  in  the  arts.  What 
unassisted  man  has  done,  therefore,  to  disperse  the 
religious  darkness,  and  to  remedy  the  moral  maladies 
of  the  world,  may  be  regarded  as  a  fair  exemplification 
of  what  he  would  do. 

To  show  that  the  race  has  been,  and  would  continue 
to  be,  hopelessly  benighted  and  degraded  without  a 
revelation,  has  been  the  chief  object  of  those  who  have 
attempted  to  show  its  probability.  This  they  have 
done  with  much  erudition  and  research,  and  this  ground 
is  so  familiar  that  I  shall  not  go  over  it  at  large,  but 


50 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


content  myself  with  a  brief  statement  of  some  of  the 
more  important  points. 

Knowledge  of  the  divine  unity  lost. — And,  first,  the 
great  doctrine  of  the  divine  unity  has  been  practically 
lost  without  a  revelation.  Every  where  the  mass  of 
men  have  been  worshipers  of  natural  objects,  or  of  the 
powers  of  nature  personified,  or  of  idols,  or  of  deified 
men ;  and  if  a  few  philosophers  have  seen  the  folly  of 
this,  and  really  held  to  the  divine  unity,  it  was  rather 
to  ridicule  and  despise,  than  to  benefit,  the  multitude. 
It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  they  held  to  the  doc¬ 
trine  except  as  a  matter  of  speculation,  or  that  they  had 
any  habit  of  worshiping  the  one  infinite  God,  or  taught 
that  he  ought  to  be  worshiped.  What  must  have  been 
the  practical  blindness  and  uncertainty,  on  this  cardinal 
point,  of  that  philosopher,  who,  among  his  last  requests, 
could  ask  a  friend  not  to  forget  to  sacrifice  a  cock  for 
him  to  Esculapius?  And  yet  this  did  Socrates.  What 
must  have  been  the  state  of  the  public  mind  among  the 
most  enlightened  people  on  earth,  and  in  the  Augustan 
age,  who  could  erect  a  statue  to  a  woman  infamous  for 
her  profligacy,  with  the  following  inscription,  making 
her  no  less  a  deity  than  Providence  itself?  "  The 
Senate  of  the  Areopagus,  and  the  Senate  of  the  Five 
Hundred,  to  the  goddess  Julia  Augusta  Providence  !  ” 

Of  the  holiness  of  God. — I  remark,  secondly,  that 
the  heathen  nations  have  been  entirely  destitute  of  the 
knowledge  of  God,  as  a  holy  God,  as  having  a  perfect 
moral  character,  and  as  exercising  a  moral  government, 
the  principles  of  which  reach  the  thoughts  of  the  heart. 
Whether  there  were  data  for  the  knowledge  of  this  in 
nature,  perhaps  we  need  not  decide  ;  but,  without  this 
knowledge  of  God,  it  is  evident  there  can  be  no  pure 
and  spiritual  religion.  Generally,  the  moral  character 


RELIGION  AND  MORALITY. 


51 


of  God  has  been  conceived  of  by  transferring  to  him 
the  moral  character,  the  affections,  the  passions,  and 
even  the  lusts,  of  men.  No  religion  based  on  such  a 
conception  of  the  object  of  worship  can  benefit  man. 
He  must  become  debased  under  its  influence. 

Separation  of  religion  and  morality . — But,  thirdly, 
this  ignorance  of  the  moral  character  of  God  has  led, 
as  it  naturally  must,  to  the  introduction  of  forms  of 
worship  that  can  not  be  acceptable  to  him,  and  to  that 
separation  of  religion  from  morality  which  has  been  so 
universal,  and,  in  most  instances,  so  entire,  among 
heathen  nations.  What  Bishop  Heber  said  of  the 
Hindoos  may,  with  some  modifications,  be  said  of  all 
heathen  nations  :  ”  The  good  qualities  that  are  among 
them  are  in  no  instance,  that  I  am  aware  of,  connected 
with,  or  arising  out  of,  their  religion,  since  it  is  in  no 
instance  to  good  deeds,  or  virtuous  habits  of  life,  that 
the  future  rewards  in  which  they  believe  are  proposed. 
Accordingly,”  he  says,  "I  really  have  never  met  with  a 
race  of  men  whose  standard  of  morality  is  so  low,  — 
who  feel  so  little  apparent  shame  in  being  detected  in  a 
falsehood,  or  so  little  interest  in  the  sufferings  of  a 
neighbor  not  being  of  their  own  caste  or  family,  — 
whose  ordinary  and  familiar  conversation  is  so  licen¬ 
tious,  or,  in  the  wilder  and  more  lawless  districts,  who 
shed  blood  with  so  little  repugnance.”  The  tendency 
to  this  separation  of  religion  and  morals  is  strong  every 
where,  and  nothing  can  be  more  destructive  both  of 
true  religion  and  of  morality,  or  more  fatal  to  every 
interest  of  man.  Let  men  think  to  please  God  by  gifts, 
by  forms,  by  bodily  sufferings,  without  regard  to  justice, 
and  benevolence,  and  purity,  and  all  the  foundations 
of  individual  happiness  and  social  order  must  be  out 
of  course.  And  how  much  more  must  this  be  the 
case,  when  the  character  of  the  object  worshiped  is  such 


52 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


as  to  excite  and  to  encourage  every  form  of  iniquity, 
and  when,  as  is  often  the  case,  unnatural  cruelty,  and 
drunkenness,  and  obscenity,  instead  of  being  forbidden, 
become  a  part  of  the  religious  rites  !  "  When  the  light 

that  is  in  men  becomes  darkness,  how  great  is  that 
darkness  !  ”  This  is  a  point  of  the  greatest  moment, 
since  no  false  religion  ever  did,  or  ever  can,  teach,  and 
adequately  sanction,  any  thing  like  a  perfect  system  of 
morality ;  and  since  morality,  unsustained  by  religion, 
can  never  furnish  an  adequate  basis  of  either  individual 
or  general  progress. 

Immortality .  — I  remark,  fourthly,  that  without  rev¬ 
elation,  men  have  had  very  obscure  and  doubtful  no¬ 
tions  respecting  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and,  so  far 
as  this  fundamental  doctrine  has  been  received,  it  has 
been  made  use  of  rather  to  control  men  in  their  conduct 
here,  than  to  lit  them  for  another  state.  A  great  part 
of  the  philosophers  regarded  this  belief  as  a  vulgar 
prejudice,  and  those  who  received  it  held  it  as  doubtful. 
Even  Cicero,  who  had  carefully  studied  the  arguments 
of  Socrates,  and  added  others  of  his  own,  says,  "Which 
of  these  is  true,  God  alone  knows  ;  and  which  is  most 
probable,  a  very  great  question.”  And  very  many,  too, 
vho  held  the  doctrine,  held  it  in  such  connection  as  to 
destroy  its  practical  influence  for  good.  Some  held  it 
in  connection  with  the  doctrine  of  fate  or  necessity ; 
some,  as  Plato,  in  connection  with  the  doctrine  of  the 
transmigration  of  souls ;  and  some,  like  the  present 
Hindoos  just  noticed,  severed  all  connection  between 
the  moral  character  here  and  the  state  of  the  soul  here¬ 
after.  As  a  practical  doctrine,  therefore,  "  life  and 
immortality  were  brought  to  light  by  the  gospel.”  This 
alone  has  revealed  it,  with  such  authority  and  certainty, 
and  in  such  connections,  as  to  give  it  all  its  efficiency 
us  a  motive  of  action.  Nothing  can  be  more  beautiful 


THE  PARDON  OF  SIN. 


53 


or  philosophical  than  the  manner  in  which  Christianity 
extends  the  same  moral  laws  and  essential  conditions 
of  happiness  over  the  present  and  the  future  life,  so 
that  the  life  of  heaven  is  made  to  be  nothing  but  the 
brightening  and  expansion  of  the  life  that  is  commenced 
here.  In  this  respect,  the  coming  in  of  Christianity 
was  like  the  coming  in  of  the  Newtonian  system ;  for 
as  that  shows,  contrary  to  the  doctrine  of  the  ancients, 
that  the  same  laws  apply  to  things  earthly  and  to  things 
heavenly,  to  the  floating  particle  of  dust  and  to  the 
planet  in  its  orbit,  so  Christianity  introduces  unity  and 
simplicity  into  the  moral  system,  and  shows  that  the 
humblest  child,  that  is  a  moral  agent,  and  the  highest 
archangel,  are  subject  to  the  same  moral  law. 

In  these  four  points,  - —  the  unity  of  God,  his  moral 
character,  the  kind  of  worship  that  would  be  acceptable 
to  him,  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  —  it  maybe 
thought  that  the  materials  of  knowledge  were  within 
the  reach  of  man.  But  if  this  is  true  for  any,  it  is  not 
for  the  mass  of  men.  The  elements  of  the  highest 
mathematical  truths  are  within  the  reach  of  all,  and 
those  truths  may  be  said  to  be  discoverable ;  but  we 
have  no  reason  to  think  they  ever  would  or  could  have 
been  discovered  by  the  great  mass  of  men. 

Truths  not  suggested  by  nature — pardon  of  sin.— 
But  there  is,  as  already  suggested,  another  class  of 
truths,  some  of  them  fundamental  and  indispensable  to 
be  known,  which  are  not,  and  could  not  be,  suggested 
by  nature.  Such,  particularly,  first,  is  the  truth  that 
God  can  pardon  sin  on  any  terms.  If  there  is  any  one 
primary  doctrine  of  natural  religion,  it  is,  that  God 
is  just.  This  was  so  strongly  felt  by  Socrates  that  he 
doubted  whether  God  could  pardon  sin.  To  a  sinner, 
as  man  is,  it  was  indispensable  that  this  fact  should  be 
known  before  any  rational  system  of  religion  could  be 

D 


54 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


framed,  and,  though  some  things  in  nature  might  lead 
to  the  hope  that  a  remedy  would  he  found  for  moral 
evil,  as  for  so  many  others,  yet  these  are  too  obscure 
to  produce  any  practical  results,  and  there  seems  every 
reason  to  believe  that  the  general  conviction  that  has 
prevailed  on  this  subject  has  originated  in  revelation. 

Conditions  unknown  —  repentance  insufficient .  — 
But,  secondly,  if  we  were  assured  that  God  would 
pardon  sin,  it  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  know  on 
what  conditions.  Nothing  can  be  more  contrary  to  the 
history  of  all  the  past,  than  what  is  asserted  by  some 
modern  deists,  especially  by  Lord  Herbert,  that  it  is  a 
dictate  of  natural  reason  that  God  will  pardon  sin  on 
repentance.  If  it  had  been  asserted  that  it  is  a  dictate 
of  natural  reason  that  penance,  and  costly  sacrifices, 
and  self-torture,  were  the  conditions  of  pardon,  there 
would  have  been  much  in  history  to  support  it.  But 
the  deist  may  be  challenged  to  show  any  heathen  creed 
in  which  this  was  an  article,  or  to  bring  forward  any 
devotee  of  any  other  religion  than  the  Christian,  who 
holds  to  that  doctrine  now.  Having  the  light  of  the 
Bible,  we  see  distinctly  that  God  can  not  properly  par¬ 
don  the  guilty  without  repentance  as  a  condition,  mean¬ 
ing  by  repentance  a  thorough  reformation,  not  only  of 
the  life,  but  of  the  principles  of  conduct,  —  of  the 
motives  and  secret  feelings  of  the  heart.  But  who  ever 
heard  of  such  a  repentance  as  this,  as  an  article  in  the 
creed  of  other  religions?  And  who,  I  may  ask,  ever 
heard  of  a  deist  as  exercising  such  a  repentance  and 
continuing  a  deist  ?  Instances  are  adduced,  under  other 
systems,  of  great  natural  goodness,  in  which  it  is  sup¬ 
posed  that  no  repentance  was  needed ;  but  I  know  of 
none  in  which  it  has  been  supposed  that  a  really  vicious 
and  abandoned  man  has  repented  in  the  high  and  only 
true  sense  of  that  term,  except  in  connection  with  the 
motives  of  the  gospel.  Repentance,  even  as  a  condition 


DIVINE  AID  UNCERTAIN. 


55 


of  pardon,  is  peculiar  to  the  gospel  system ;  and  as  an 
historical  fact,  it  is  produced  only  by  gospel  motives. 
The  truth  is,  deists  have  borrowed  this  partial  truth 
from  the  Bible ,  and  then  used  it  to  show  that  we  do  not 
need  the  very  book  from  which  they  borrowed  it.  The 
question  of  the  method  or  possibility  of  pardon,  by  a 
perfectly  just  God,  involves  the  highest  problem  of 
moral  government ;  and  there  is  no  analogy  of  the  oper¬ 
ation  of  human  laws,  and  certainly  nothing  which  we 
see  of  the  inflexibility  and  severity  with  which  the  nat¬ 
ural  laws  of  God  are  administered,  which  could  lead  us 
to  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  repentance  alone  for  the 
pardon  of  moral  transgressions. 

Divine  assistance  uncertain .  —  And  thirdly,  if  man 
should  endeavor  to  reclaim  himself  from  the  dominion 
of  vice,  he  can  not  know  whether  God  will  regard  him 
with  favor,  and  will  assist  him,  or  whether  he  shall  be 
left  to  struggle  with  the  current  by  his  own  unassisted 
efforts.  Grace,  favor,  the  great  doctrine  of  divine  aid 
to  the  sinful  and  the  tempted,  so  sustaining  to  the  weak¬ 
ness,  and  so  consoling  to  the  wretchedness,  of  man, 
coming  directly  from  God  as  a  personal  Being,  it  was 
impossible  that  nature  should  give  any  intimation  of  it. 
It  is  God’s  own  hand  stretched  out  to  guide  and  sustain 
his  benighted  and  feeble  creatures. 

Origin  and  end  unknown.  —  Again,  without  revela¬ 
tion  man  could  know  nothing1  of  the  origin  or  end  of 
the  present  state  of  things.  Nearly  all  the  ancient  phi¬ 
losophers  believed  that  matter  was  eternal ;  but  of  its 
forms,  as  indicating  intelligence,  and  of  the  races  of 
animals  and  of  man,  they  could  give  no  satisfactory 
account.  And  it  is  obvious,  that  a  course  of  nature 
established,  if  it  is  ever  to  terminate,  can,  of  itself, 
give  no  indication  of  that  termination,  either  in  respect 
to  time  or  mode.  Such  knowledge  would  be  highly 
satisfactory  to  man,  and  would  alone  enable  him  to 


56 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


direct  his  course  in  accordance  with  the  purposes 
of  God. 

The  result. — Now,  when  we  consider  the  passions 
of  men,  the  collisions  of  interest,  the  obtrusiveness  of 
the  objects  of  sense,  the  pressure  of  animal  wants,  the  . 
vices  of  society,  and  the  shortness  of  life,  who  can 
believe,  with  this  obscurity  hanging  over  some  points, 
and  this  total  darkness  resting  upon  others,  that  one  in 
a  million  would  sit  down  calmly  to  solve  these  great 
questions  respecting  God  and  his  government,  and 
human  destiny?  Who  can  believe  that. any  speculative 
and  problematical  solution  of  one  or  all  of  them  could 
introduce  a  religion  that  would  effectually  control  the 
passions,  and  predominate  over  the  senses,  of  men? 
No ;  it  is  exceedingly  clear  that,  if  any  thing  was  to 
be  done  to  enlighten  man,  it  must  be  by  a  voice  from 
heaven — a  voice  that  should  speak  with  "authority, 
and  not  as  the  scribes.” 

Moral  ignorance  and  degradation.  — And  if  mankind 
were  thus  benighted  without  revelation,  it  will  follow, 
of  course,  that  they  were  degraded.  Moral  darkness, 
voluntarily  incurred,  necessarily  involves  practical  wick¬ 
edness.  Without  an  authoritative  standard  of  morals, 
like  the  law  of  God,  without  a  general  system  of  moral 
instruction,  without  the  motives  drawn  from  the  moral 
government  of  God  and  a  future  retribution,  with  a 
religion  whose  doctrines  and  rites  were  often  at  war 
with  the  dictates  of  the  moral  nature,  we  can  not  won- 
der  at  the  tendency  to  deterioration  that  was  every 
where  manifest,  nor  at  the  general  prevalence  of  false¬ 
hood,  and  cruelty,  and  nameless  licentiousness.  If 
some  public  and  social  virtues  were  cultivated,  it  was 
chiefly  during  certain  periods  of  the  rise  of  states,  in 
the  earlier  and  less  corrupt  stages  of  society,  and  never 
in  connection  with  the  worship  of  a  spiritual  and  holy 
God,  or  with  the  cultivation  of  purity  of  heart  and  of 


PRESSING  NEED  OF  REVELATION. 


57 


life.  Philosophy  enabled  its  votaries  rather  to  see  and 
discourse  about  difficulties  than  to  remove  them.  It 
did  not  even  reform  the  lives  of  the  philosophers  them¬ 
selves,  and  made  no  attempts  either  to  instruct  or 
reform  the  mass  of  the  people.  Quintilian  says  of  the 
philosophers  of  his  time,  "  The  most  notorious  vices 
are  screened  under  that  name  ;  and  they  do  not  labor 
to  maintain  the  character  of  philosophers  by  virtue  and 
study,  but  conceal  the  most  vicious  lives  under  an  aus¬ 
tere  look  and  a  singularity  of  dress.”  And  when  this 
could  be  said  of  the  philosophers,  we  might  believe, 
of  the  mass  of  the  people,  on  less  authority  than  that 
of  inspiration,  that  they  were  "  filled  with  all  unright¬ 
eousness,  fornication,  wickedness,  covetousness,  mali¬ 
ciousness  ;  full  of  envy,  murder,  debate,  deceit,  malig¬ 
nity  ;  whisperers,  backbiters,  haters  of  God,  despiteful, 
proud,  boasters,  inventors  of  evil  things,  disobedient 
to  parents,  without  understanding,  covenant-breakers, 
without  natural  affection,  implacable,  unmerciful.”  * 

The  extremity.  — Here,  then,  we  have  a  case  the  most 
melancholy  of  which  we  can  conceive,  in  which  the 
noblest  faculties  of  a  creature  of  God,  those  through 
which  his  highest  perfection  and  happiness  should  be 
attained,  have  become  the  means  of  sinking  him  into 
the  lowest  forms  of  immorality,  and  of  filthy,  and  cruel, 
and  costly,  and  hideous  superstition.  The  true  God, 
the  only  object  corresponding  to  the  religious  nature 
of  man,  being  withdrawn,  the  faculties  of  man  are  not 
annihilated ;  he  can  not  throw  oft*  his  nature  ;  he  must 
have  some  religion ;  and  superstition,  and  enthusiasm, 
and  fanaticism  come  in,  and  every  form  of  iniquity  is 
perpetrated  in  the  name  of  God,  and  the  religious 
nature  is  used  as  an  engine  to  crush  human  liberty  and 
rivet  the  bonds  of  oppression.  There  is  nothing  that 
£an  adequately  represent  this  dreadful  mental  and  moral 


*  Rom.  i.  29-31. 


58 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


perversion  but  those  forms  of  bodily  disease  in  which 
the  processes  of  life,  that  ought  to  build  up  a  beautiful 
and  perfect  body,  go  on  only  to  stimulate  the  activity 
of  the  fatal  leprosy,  only  to  minister  to  deformity,  and 
make  it  more  hideous.  Here,  then,  the  question  is 
brought  to  an  issue.  In  such  a  state  of  things,  when  it 
is  obvious  that  nothing  but  a  voice  from  heaven  can 
bring  deliverance,  will  that  voice  be  uttered?  Surely, 
if  a  case  can  occur  in  which,  from  the  benevolence  of 
God,  we  might  hope  for  a  special  interposition,  this  is 
that  case.  On  the  question  of  such  an  interposition 
hung  the  destiny  of  the  race  ;  and  to  one  who  could 
oring  his  mind  to  the  high  conception  of  the  possibility 
of  mercy  in  God,  it  coidd  not 'appear  improbable  that 
that  interposition  would  be  vouchsafed. 

Revelation  probable. — From  what  has  been  said,  it 
appears  that,  if  we  regard  man  as  in  a  state  of  inno¬ 
cence,  we  should  naturally  expect  God  would  hold 
communications  with  him ;  that,  if  we  regard  him  as 
guilty,  and  having  lost  the  knowledge  and  moral  image 
of  God,  such  a  communication  would  be  absolutely 
necessary,  if  man  was  to  be  restored.  We  have,  there¬ 
fore,  the  same  antecedent  probability  of  a  revelation  as 
we  have  that  God  would  interpose  at  all  in  behalf  of 
the  guilty,  or  that  there  would  be  any  true  religion 
upon  earth.  This  probability,  moreover,  is  strength¬ 
ened  by  the  general  expectation  of  the  race,  shown  by 
the  readiness  with  which  they  have  received  accounts 
of  supposed  revelations,  and  by  the  natural  tendency 
of  man  to  crave  aid  directly  from  God. 

If  a  revelation ,  then  miracles.  — But,  whatever  prob¬ 
ability  there  was  that  there  woidd  be  a  revelation,  the 
same  was  there  that  there  would  be  miracles ;  because 
miracles,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  are  the  only  means  by 
which  it  would  be  possible  for  God  to  authenticate  a 
communication  to  man.  It  is  true,  he  might  make  a 


NECESSITY  OF  MIRACLES. 


59- 


special  revelation  to  each  individual,  and  certify  him 
that  it  was  a  revelation,  but  that  would  not  be  analo¬ 
gous  to  his  mode  of  proceeding  in  other  things ;  and 
if  his  purpose  was  to  make  known  his  will  to  certain 
individuals,  to  be  by  them  communicated  to  the  rest  of 
the  race,  it  would  seem  impossible  that  they  should 
exhibit  any  other  seed  of  their  commission  than  mira¬ 
cles.  This  is  the  simple,  natural,  majestic  seal  which 
we  should  expect  God  would  affix  to  a  communication 
from  himself ;  and  when  this  seal  is  presented  by  men 
whose  lives  and  works  correspond  with  what  we  might 
expect  from  messengers  of  God,  it  is  felt  to  be  de¬ 
cisive. 

But  though  miracles  are  thus  just  as  probable  as  a 
revelation,  even  though  we  should  not  choose  to  say 
that  revelation  itself  is  a  miracle,  and  though  the  chief 
object  of  them  is  to  give  authority  to  a  revelation,  yet, 
as  the  main  objections  against  revelation  are  made 
against  it  as  miraculous,  I  wish  to  adduce  here  an  addi¬ 
tional  consideration  or  two  to  show  the  probability  that 
miracles  would  occur  in  a  system  like  ours. 

First  effect  of  miracles.  —  The  first  consideration  will 
be  found  in  the  effect  miracles  would  have  in  producing 
a  conviction  of  the  being  of  a  personal  God.  This  is 
of  the  utmost  importance.  Let  us  suppose  there  had 
been  no  miracle,  nor  any  supposition  of  one,  as  far 
back  as  history  goes ;  that  the  uniform  course  of  nature 
had  moved  on  without  any  supposed  intervention  of  a 
superior  personal  Power ;  that,  in  the  language  of  the 
scoffer,  all  things  had  continued  as  they  were  from  the 
beginning  of  the  creation ;  that  no  flood  had  swept  the 
earth,  and  no  law  had  been  given  in  the  midst  of  thun- 
derings  and  earthquakes,  and  no  messenger  from  above, 
whose  form  was  "like  the  Son  of  God,”  had  walked 
with  good  men  in  the  fire,  and  no  other  indications  of 
a  righteous  administration  and  of  future  retribution  had 


60 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


appeared  than  are  connected  with  those  unswerving 
laws  that  bring  all  things  alike  to  all,  —  and  who  can 
estimate  the  tendency  to  practical,  if  not  to  speculative 
atheism,  of  such  a  state  of  things?  It  may  even  be 
questioned  whether  the  common  argument  from  con¬ 
trivance,  for  the  being  of  a  personal  God,  when  that 
stands  alone,  and  is  connected  with  such  a  uniform 
course  of  things,  would  be  valid.  If  this  rigid  order 
could  once  be  infringed  for  a  good  and  manifest  reason, 
it  would  obviously  change  the  whole  face  of  the  argu¬ 
ment.  Could  we  once  see  gravitation  suspended  when 
the  good  man  is  thrown  by  his  persecutors  from  the  top 
of  the  rock,  —  could  we  see  a  chariot  and  horses  of  fire 
descend  and  deliver  the  righteous  from  the  universal 
law  of  death,  —  could  we  see  the  sun  stand  still  in 
heaven  that  the  wicked  might  be  overthrown,  —  then 
should  we  be  assured  of  the  existence  of  a  personal 
Power,  with  a  distinct  will,  whose  agents  and  ministers 
these  laws  were.  Such  attestations  of  his  being  we 
might  expect  God  would  give,  not  merely  to  confirm  a 
particular  revelation,  but  with  reference  to  this  feeling 
of  indefiniteness,  of  generality,  of  a  want  of  person¬ 
ality  in  the  supreme  Power,  which  the  operation  of 
general  laws,  necessarily  confounding  all  moral  distinc¬ 
tions,  has  a  tendency  to  produce. 

Second  effect.  —  The  second  collateral  effect  of  mira¬ 
cles  which  I  would  adduce  is,  that  they  show  that  the 
laws  of  nature  are  subordinate  to  the  higher  laws  of 
God’s  moral  kingdom,  and  are  controlled  and  suspended 
with  reference  to  that.  This  supposes,  of  course,  that 
the  miracles  are  neither  capricious  nor  frivolous,  but 
are  so  wrought  as  to  show  this  truth.  The  man,  who 
has  not  yet  seen  that  the  moral  government  of  God  is 
that  with  reference  to  which  the  universe  is  constructed 
and  sustained,  is  as  far  from  the  true  system  of  God’s 
administration  as  he  would  be  from  the  true  system  of 


NATURE  AND  MORAL  GOVERNMENT. 


61 


astronomy  who  should  place  the  earth  in  the  centre. 
This  sentiment  is  involved  in  those  extraordinary  words 
of  Christ,  "It  is  easier  for  heaven  and  earth  to  pass, 
than  one  tittle  of  the  law  to  fail,”  and  might,  indeed, 
he  inferred  from  the  nature  of  the  case.  What  man  of 
honor  regards  property  at  all,  when  his  moral  character 
is  concerned?  What  wise  man  does  not  sacrifice  prop¬ 
erty  for  the  true  good  of  rational  and  intelligent  beings  ? 
So,  if  God  has  a  moral  character,  and  a  moral  govern¬ 
ment,  then  what  we  call  nature  and  its  laws,  must  hold 
the  same  relation  to  him  that  property  does  to  the  moral 
character  of  man.  The  power  and  wisdom  of  God 
may  be  seen  in  nature ;  but  his  justice,  and  truth,  and 
mercy,  in  which  his  highest  glory  consists,  can  be  seen 
only  in  his  dealings  with  his  moral  creatures.  If  a  law 
of  nature  were  destroyed,  it  could  be  reestablished ;  if 
a  system  of  suns  and  planets  were  annihilated,  another 
might  be  produced  in  its  room ;  if  heaven  and  earth 
were  to  pass  away,  they  might  be  created  again  ;  but  if 
the  brightness  of  the  moral  character  of  God  should  be 
tarnished,  that  character  would  be  lost  forever.  This 
distinction  between  mere  nature  and  moral  government 
is  fundamental ;  and  nothing  could  have  a  greater  ten¬ 
dency  to  wake  men  up  to  a  perception  of  it  than  to  see 
God,  as  he  moves  on  to  the  accomplishment  of  his 
moral  purposes,  setting  aside  those  laws  of  nature 
which  we  had  supposed  were  established  like  the  ever¬ 
lasting  hills  —  than  to  see  the  whole  of  visible  nature, 
with  all  its  laws,  standing  ready  to  pay  its  obeisance  to 
the  true  embassadors  of  his  moral  kingdom.  How  else 
could  God  express  to  us  the  true  relations  to  each  other 
of  his  natural  and  moral  government  ? 

If,  then,  miracles  were  necessary  to  give  authority  to 
revelation,  to  give  a  practical  impression  of  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  a  personal  God,  and  to  indicate  the  true  posi¬ 
tion  of  his  moral  government,  who  will  say,  on  tho 


6 2  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

supposition  that  he  has  a  moral  government,  that  they 
are  improbable? 

Import  of  a  miracle.  —  There  has,  indeed,  been  a 
question  raised,  —  and  it  is  one  of  so  much  importance 
that  it  may  be  well  to  notice  it  here,  —  how  far  we  are 
bound  to  receive  any  doctrine  or  command  that  may  be 
confirmed  by  a  miracle.  But  this  depends  on  the  fur¬ 
ther  question,  whether  a  miracle  can  be  wrought  by  any 
being  but  God.  If  God,  and  God  only,  can  work  a 
miracle,  then  we  are  bound,  both  by  reason  and  con¬ 
science,  to  believe  every  thing  short  of  a  known  ab¬ 
surdity,  and  to  do  every  thing  short  of  essential  wick¬ 
edness,  taught  or  commanded  with  that  sanction.  By 
essential  wickedness,  I  do  not  mean  any  outward  act, 
but  positive  malignity.  To  suppose  God  to  command 
this,  would  be  a  contradiction,  since  he  could  not  do  it 
and  be  God.  When  God  told  Abraham  to  sacrifice  his 
son  Isaac,  he  was  to  do  it  though  it  might  seem  to  con¬ 
tradict  the  dictates  of  natural  affection,  and  what,  with¬ 
out  the  command,  would  have  been  the  dictates  of  con¬ 
science,  and  to  be  in  direct  opposition  to  the  promises 
of  God  himself ;  and  in  doing  it  he  honored  God,  and 
acted  in  accordance  with  the  dictates  of  natural  religion, 
and  of  the  reason  that  God  had  given  him.  Not  to  be¬ 
lieve  and  obey  the  direct  word  of  God,  would  lead  at 
once  to  absurdity  and  contradiction.  It  would  involve 
the  charge  of  falsehood  and  tyranny  against  God.  But 
the  moment  you  charge  God  with  falsehood,  there  is  an 
end  to  all  ground  of  faith  in  any  thing.  If  I  can  not 
believe  God,  I  can  not  believe  the  faculties  that  come 
from  God.  By  charging  Him  who  gave  me  my  moral 
nature  with  being  false,  I  involve  the  probability  that 
all  the  notices  and  indications  of  that  nature  are  false, 
and  all  its  distinctions  baseless.  Nothing  could  then 
save  me  from  universal  skepticism.  Certainly  natural 
religion,  and  reason  itself,  if  it  would  not  lose  from 


A  MIRACLE  BY  GOD  ONLY. 


under  it  the  very  ground  on  which  it  stands,  would  lead 
me  to  this.  When  God  speaks,  it  is  sufficient.  His 
reason  is  the  infinite  reason,  his  authority  is  absolute 
authority,  and  nothing  more  dreadful,  or  more  opposed 
to  our  most  intimate  convictions,  could  possibly  occur 
than  would  be  involved  in  disbelieving  and  disobeying 
him.  Nor  can  I  doubt  that  it  is  in  the  power  of  God 
so  to  authenticate  his  word  to  the  soul  of  man  as  thus 
to  set  it  in  opposition  to  the  utterances  and  promptings 
of  every  natural  faculty ;  nor  that  it  is  only,  as  in  the 
case  of  Abraham,  when  such  an  opposition  occurs,  that 
the  most  implicit  confidence  in  God,  and  the  highest 
grandeur  of  faith,  can  be  seen. 

Miracles  real  and  pretended .  ■ — If,  then,  we  suppose 
that  God  only  can  perform  a  miracle,  its  authority  will 
be  absolute.  But  may  there  not  be  a  suspension  or  a 
reversal  of  the  laws  of  nature  caused  by  other  beings 
than  God?  May  not  some  malignant  agent  do  that 
which,  if  it  is  not,  must  appear  to  us  to  be  a  real 
miracle  ?  This  is  a  question  which  I  can  not  answer. 
It  may  be  so.  I  know  not  what  intermediate  powers 
and  agencies  there  may  be  between  the  infinite  God 
and  man.  I  know  not  but  there  may  be  created  beings 
of  such  might  that  one  of  them  could  seize  upon  the 
earth,  and  hurl  it  from  its  orbit,  or  control  its  elements  ; 
nor  do  I  know  what  range  God  may  give  to  the  agency 
of  such,  or  of  any  other  intermediate  beings.  I  do 
not  myself  believe  that  any  being  but  God  can  work  a 
real  miracle.  Miracles  are  his  great  seal.  This  may 
be  counterfeited ;  but  if  he  should  suffer  it  to  be 
stolen,  I  see  no  possible  way  in  which  he  could  authen¬ 
ticate  a  communication  to  his  creatures.  A  real  mira¬ 
cle  is  to  be  distinguished  from  those  feats  and  appear¬ 
ances  which  may  be  produced  by  sleight  of  hand,  and 
by  collusion  when  once  a  religion  is  established ;  and 
also  from  any  effects  of  merely  natural  agents,  however 


64 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


occult,  under  the  control  of  science,  but  working  ac¬ 
cording  to  their  own  laws.  These,  especially  if  science 
and  deception  are  combined,  and  in  an  age  of  popular 
ignorance,  may  go  very  far;  probably  far  enough  to 
account  for  every  thing  in  the  Bible,  seemingly  miracu¬ 
lous,  which  we  should  not  be  willing  to  attribute  to 
God.  They  may  account  for  appearances  and  coinci¬ 
dences  which,  to  the  ignorant,  must  have  seemed  like 
miracles,  and  for  extraordinary  cures  of  a  certain  class, 
while  the  principle  of  life  remained ;  but  they  can  not 
account  for  a  reversal  of  a  law  of  nature,  as  when  an 
ax  is  made  to  swim,  or  the  shadow  to  go  back  on  the 
dial ;  nor  for  an  operation  where  the  powers  of  nature 
have  nothing  to  work  upon,  as  when  one  really  dead  is 
raised  to  life.  However,  something  like  that  of  which 
I  have  spoken  above  is  implied  in  the  Bible,  and  pro¬ 
vision  is  made  for  the  state  of  mind  which  it  must 
induce.  This  speaks  of  "signs  and  lying  wonders.”  It 
was  said  to  the  Israelites  of  old,  "  If  there  arise  among 
you  a  prophet,  or  a  dreamer  of  dreams,  and  giveth  thee 
a  sign  or  a  wonder,  and  the  sign  or  the  wonder  come  to 
pass,  whereof  he  spake  unto  thee,  saying,  Let  us  go 
after  other  gods,  which  thou  hast  not  known,  and  let  us 
serve  them ;  thou  shalt  not  hearken  unto  the  words  of 
that  prophet,  or  that  dreamer  of  dreams  ;  for  the  Lord 
your  God  proveth  you,  to  know  whether  ye  love  the 
Lord  your  God  with  all  your  heart  and  with  all  your 
soul.” 

Faith  and  reason .  —  I  would  say,  then,  that  an  ap¬ 
parent  miracle,  performed  by  a  creature  of  God,  would 
not  authorize  me  to  receive  what  seemed  to  me  to  be 
contradictory  to  my  natural  faculties  ;  and  the  voice  of 
God  himself  would  lay  me  under  obligation  to  do  this 
simply  because  the  highest  reason  demands  faith  in  him 
as  an  essential  condition  of  faith  in  those  faculties.  It 
is,  indeed,  a  contradiction  to  say  that  a  man  can  believe 


CHRISTIAN  MIRACLES. 


65 


what  he  knows  to  be  ail  absurdity,  or  can  be  under  ob¬ 
ligation  to  do  what  is  wrong ;  and,  in  general,  I  would 
say  that  no  man  is  under  obligation  to  believe  what  it 
is  not  more  reasonable  for  him  to  believe  than  to  dis¬ 
believe  ;  but  it  may  be  reasonable  to  believe,  on  the 
authority  of  God,  that  that  is  not  an  absurdity  which 
misfit  otherwise  seem  to  be  so,  and  that  the  command 
of  God  would  make  certain  outward  actions  right  for 
us,  which  would  otherwise  not  be  so.  If  God  should 
wish  to  make  a  communication  to  an  individual  that 
would  seem  in  opposition  to  the  dictates  of  his  nat¬ 
ural  faculties,  we  might  expect  that  he  would,  as  in  the 
case  of  Abraham,  speak  himself,  and  cause  it  to  be 
known  that  the  voice  was  certainly  his ;  but  when  a 
creature  of  God  appears  as  his  messenger,  then  his 
character  and  the  object  of  his  mission  must  correspond 
with  what  we  have  a  right  to  expect  of  a  messenger 
from  God ;  and  no  prodigy,  no  apparent  miracle,  ought 
to  be  received  as  a  sufficient  sanction  for  that  which, 
without  such  sanction,  would  appear  to  be  either  absurd 
or  vicious. 

No  practical  difficulty.  —  But,  however  we  may 
decide  this  question  on  the  supposition  of  a  conflict 
between  the  message  confirmed  by  a  miracle,  and  the 
intellectual,  or  the  moral  nature  of  man,  there  is  no 
practical  difficulty  on  this  point  when  we  speak  of 
the  Christian  miracles.  These  are  all  worthy  of  God. 
They  were  wrought  by  men  of  pure  and  benevolent 
lives,  and  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  confirming  a  mes¬ 
sage  of  the  highest  importance  to  man,  and  in  entire 
conformity  to  his  nature.  And  such  miracles,  wrought 
by  such  men,  are,  as  I  have  said,  the  seal  which 
we  should  naturally  expect  God  would  affix  to  their 
message.  They  are  an  adequate  seal,  and  every 
fair-minded  man  responds  to  the  sentiment  uttered  by 


66 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Nicodemus,  rr  No  man  can  do  these  miracles  that  thou 
doest ,  except  God  be  with  him.” 

The  Christian  religion  or  none .  —  I  will  simply  say, 
in  closing'  this  lecture,  that  whatever  probability  there 
is  that  God  has  given  a  revelation  at  all,  there  is  the 
same  that  Christianity  is  that  revelation.  We  have  now 
come  to  that  point  in  the  history  of  the  world,  in  which 
the  question  among  all  well-informed  men  must  be 
between  the  truth  of  Christianity  and  no  religion.  No 
man,  surely,  would  advocate  any  form  of  idolatry  or 
of  polytheism,  and  there  remain  only  the  religion  of 
Mohammed,  and  Deism,  to  be  compared  with  Chris¬ 
tianity.  But  I  need  not  spend  time  in  comparing,  or 
rather  contrasting,  the  religion  of  Mohammed,  unsus- 
tained  by  miracles  or  by  prophecies,  propagated  by  the 
sword,  encouraging  fatalism,  and  pride,  and  intolerance, 
sanctioning  polygamy,  offering  a  sensual  heaven,  —  a 
religion  whose  force  is  already  spent,  which  has  no  sym¬ 
pathy  or  congruity  with  the  enlarged  views  and  onward 
movements  of  these  days,  and  which  is  fast  passing 
into  a  hopeless  imbecility,  —  with  the  pure,  and  humble, 
and  beneficent  religion  of  Christ,  heralded  by  prophecy, 
sealed  by  miracles,  and  now,  after  eighteen  hundred 
years,  going  forth,  with  all  its  pristine  vigor,  to  bless 
the  nations. 

Of  Deism  it  may  be  doubted  whether  it  should  be 
called  a  religion.  It  has  never  had  a  priesthood,  nor  a 
creed,  nor  any  book  professing  to  contain  the  truths  it 
teaches,  nor  a  temple,  nor,  with  the  exception  of  a 
short  period  during  the  French  revolution,  an  assembly 
for  worship.  If  we  mean,  then,  by  religion,  any  such 
acknowledgment  of  God  as  recognizes  our  social  nature, 
and  binds  mankind  in  one  brotherhood  of  equality, 
while  it  presents  them  together  before  the  throne  of  a 
common  Father,  Deism  is  not  a  religion.  Those  who 
profess  to  teach  it  have  no  agreement  in  their  doctrines. 


CHRISTIANITY  THE  ONLY  HOPE. 


67 


and  the  doctrines  themselves  are,  several  of  them,  bor¬ 
rowed  from  Christianity,  and  then  inculcated  as  the 
teachings  of  reason. 

No  ;  there  is  nothing  on  the  face  of  the  earth  that 
can,  for  a  moment,  bear  a  comparison  with  Christian¬ 
ity  as  a  religion  for  man.  Upon  this  the  hope  of  the 
race  hangs.  From  the  very  first,  it  took  its  position, 
as  the  pillar  of  fire,  to  lead  the  race  onward.  The 
patriarchal,  and  Jewish,  and  Christian  dispensations,  all 
finding  their  identity  in  the  true  import  of  sacrifices, 
and  in  the  inculcation  of  righteousness,  have  been  one 
religion.  The  intelligence  and  power  of  the  race  are 
with  those  who  have  embraced  it  j  and  now,  if  this, 
instead  of  proving  indeed  a  pillar  of  fire  from  God, 
should  be  found  but  a  delusive  meteor,  then  nothing 
will  be  left  to  the  race  but  to  go  back  to  a  darkness  that 
may  be  felt,  and  to  a  worse  than  Egyptian  bondage . 


LECTURE  III. 


INTERNAL  AND  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE.  —  VAGUENESS  OF  THE 
DIVISION  BETWEEN  THEM. —REASONS  FOR  CONSIDERING 
THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCES  FIRST. -ARGUMENT  FIRST:  FROM 
ANALOGY. 

In  my  first  lecture,  I  attempted  to  show  that,  if  God 
has  given  a  revelation,  we  may  certainly  know  it ;  and 
in  the  second,  that  there  is  no  such  antecedent  improb¬ 
ability  against  a  revelation,  as  to  justify  us  in  requiring 
proof  different  from  that  which  we  require  for  other 
events.  There  are  laws  of  evidence  according  to  which 
we  judge  in  other  cases,  and  I  only  ask  that  these  same 
laws  may  be  applied  here. 

If  these  points  are  established,  we  are  ready  to  in¬ 
quire  whether  God  has  in  fact  given  a  revelation. 

On  coming  into  life,  we  find  Christianity  existing, 
and  claiming  to  be  such  a  revelation.  We  wish  to  sat¬ 
isfy  ourselves  of  the  validity  of  that  claim.  How  shall 
we  proceed  ?  The  evidence  by  which  its  claims  are  sus¬ 
tained  is  commonly  divided  into  two  kinds,  the  exter¬ 
nal  and  the  internal.  This  division  is  simple,  and  of 
long  standing ;  but  by  it  heads  of  evidence  are  classed 
together,  having  so  little  affinity  for  each  other,  and,  in 
regard  to  some  of  them,  it  is  so  difficult  to  see  on  what 
principle  they  are  classed  under  one  rather  than  the 
other,  that  its  utility  may  be  doubted.  Thus  the  evi¬ 
dences  from  testimony,  from  prophecy,  from  the  mode 
in  which  the  gospel  was  propagated,  and  from  its 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE. 


69 


effects, — topics  resembling  each  other  scarcely  at  all, 
—  are  classed  under  the  head  of  the  external  evidences  ; 
while  the  various  marks  of  honesty  found  in  the  New 
Testament,  the  agreement  of  the  parts  with  each  other, 
its  peculiar  doctrines,  its  pure  morality,  its  representa¬ 
tion  of  the  character  of  Christ,  its  analogy  to  nature,  its 
adaptation  to  the  situation  and  wants  of  man,  —  topics 
still  more  diverse,  —  are  classed  under  its  internal  evi¬ 
dences. 

Chalmers  and  Wilson .  —  I  notice  the  vagueness  of 
this  arrangement,  because  these  two  classes  of  evidence 
have  often  been  opposed  to  each  other,  and  the  superi¬ 
ority  of  one  over  the  other  contended  for  ;  and  because 
great  and  good  men,  as  Chalmers  formerly,  have  in 
some  instances  regarded  it  as  presumptuous  to  study 
the  internal  evidences  at  all,  as  if  it  would  be  a  sitting 
in  judgment  beforehand  on  the  kind  of  revelation  God 
ought  to  give ;  and  others,  as  Wilson,  have  thought  it 
arrogance  to  study  the  internal  evidences  first,  as  if  the 
capacity  to  judge  of  a  revelation  after  it  was  given  im¬ 
plied  an  amount  of  knowledge  that  would  preclude  the 
necessity  of  any  revelation  at  all. 

Internal  evidences  —  their  study  not  presumptuous .  — 
But  of  which  of  the  internal  evidences  mentioned  above 
can  it  be  said  to  be  presumptuous  for  man  to  judge 
without  reference  to  external  testimony  ?  Certainly  not 
of  those  natural  and  incidental  evidences  of  truth  spread 
every  where  over  the  pages  of  the  New  Testament ; 
nor  of  the  agreement  of  the  several  books  with  each 
other ;  nor  of  the  morality  of  the  gospel ;  nor  of  its 
tendency  to  promote  human  happiness  in  this  life  ;  and 
if  there  be  some  of  the  doctrines,  of  the  probability  of 
which  we  could  not  judge  beforehand,  that  is  no  reason 
why  we  should  be  excluded  from  an  immediate  and  free 
range  in  every  other  part  of  this  field.  There  is  what 
has  been  called,  by  Verplanck,  a  critical,  as  well  as  a 

E 


70 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


moral  internal  evidence.  Of  the  first  we  are  competent 
to  judge,  and,  in  determining  the  question  of  our  com¬ 
petency  to  judge  of  the  second,  we  are  not  to  overlook 
a  distinction  made  by  the  same  able  writer.  It  is  that 
"  between  the  power  of  discovering  truth,  and  that  of 
examining  and  deciding  upon  it  when  offered  to  our 
judgment.”  "In  matters  of  human  science,”  he  goes 
on  to  say,  "  to  how  few  is  the  one  given,  and  how  com¬ 
mon  is  the  other !  Look  at  that  vast  mass  of  mathe¬ 
matical  invention  and  demonstration  which  has  been 
carried  on  by  gifted  minds,  in  every  age,  in  continued 
progress,  from  the  days  of  the  learned  priesthood  of 
ancient  Egypt  to  those  of  the  discoveries  of  La  Place 
and  La  Grange.  Who  is  there  of  the  mathematicians 
of  this  generation  who  could  be  selected  as  capable  of 
alone  discovering  all  this  prolonged  and  continuous 
chain  of  demonstration?  If  left  to  their  own  unaided 
researches,  how  far  would  the  original  and  inventive 
genius  of  a  Newton  or  a  Pascal  have  carried  them? 
Yet  we  know  that  all  this  body  of  science,  this  magnifi¬ 
cent  accumulation  of  the  patient  labors  of  so  many  in¬ 
tellects,  may  be  examined  and  rigorously  scrutinized  in 
every  step,  and  finally  completely  mastered  and  famil¬ 
iarized  to  the  understanding,  in  a  few  years’  study,  by 
a  student  who,  trusting  solely  to  his  own  mind,  could 
never  have  advanced  beyond  the  simple  elements  of 
geometry. 

"This  reasoning  may  be  applied,  either  directly  or 
by  fair  analogy,  to  every  part  of  our  knowledge  of  the 
laws  of  nature  and  of  mind ;  and  it  therefore  seems  to 
be  neither  presumptuous  nor  unphilosophical,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  in  strict  accordance  with  the  soundest 
reasoning,  to  maintain  that  though  '  the  world  by  wis¬ 
dom  knew  not  God,’  yet,  so  far  forth  as  he  reveals  him¬ 
self  to  men,  and  calls  upon  them  to  receive  and  obey 
that  revealed  will,  he  has  given  to  them  faculties,  by 


TO  JUDGE  OF  REVELATION  NOT  PRESUMPTUOUS.  71 


no  means  compelling,  but  yet  enabling  them  to  under¬ 
stand  his  revelation ;  to  perceive  its  truth,  excellence, 
and  beauty ;  and  to  become  sensible  of  their  own  want 
of  its  instruction,  as  well  as  to  estimate  that  extrinsic 
human  testimony  by  which  it  may  be  supported  or 
attended.”  * 

Certainly,  there  are  many  things  in  which  we  per¬ 
ceive  a  fitness  and  an  excellence,  when  they  are  made 
known,  of  which  we  should  never,  of  ourselves,  have 
formed  any  conception.  Thus  the  Newtonian  system 
comes  before  the  eye  of  the  mind  as  a  great  mountain 
does  before  that  of  the  body,  and  we  see  at  once  that 
it  is  worthy  of  God.  No  timid  disclaimer  of  our  right 
to  judge  of  the  works  of  God  can  prevent  this  effect. 
Its  simplicity,  and  beauty,  and  majesty,  speak  with  a 
voice  more  pleasing,  and  scarcely  less  satisfactory,  than 
that  of  mathematical  demonstration.  I  will  not  say 
how  much  of  this  perceived  excellence,  or  whether  any, 
must  belong  to  a  revelation  which  we  are  under  oblimi- 
tion  to  receive.  Certainly,  that  of  the  Jews  had  to 
them  far  less  of  this  than  ours  to  us.  But  I  will  say 
that  it  is  the  natural  impulse  of  the  mind  to  examine 
any  thing  claiming  to  be  a  revelation  by  such  tests  ;  and 
if  if  is  done  in  a  proper  spirit,  and  with  those  limita¬ 
tions  which  good  sense  must  always  put  to  human 
inquiries,  it  is  neither  presumptuous  nor  dangerous.  It 
is  not  judging  beforehand  of  what  God  ought  to  do  ;  it 
is  judging  of  what  it  is  claimed  that  he  has  done  ;  and 
the  same  spirit  that  would  prevent  us  from  doing  this 
would  debar  us  from  any  study  of  final  causes  in  the 
works  of  God.  If  the  gospel  is  to  act  upon  character, 
it  must  be  received  with  an  intelligent  perception  of  its 
adaptation  to  our  wants,  and  of  its  excellence.  The 
message,  not  less  than  the  minister  of  God,  might  be 


*  Verplanck’s  Evidences  of  Revealed  Religion. 


72 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


expected  to  commend  itself  "  to  every  man’s  conscience 
in  the  sight  of  God.” 

Standards  and  tests  in  the  mind .  —  I  would  not  claim 
for  reason  a  place  which  does  not  belong  to  it.  So  far 
as  the  Christian  religion  rests  on  facts,  it  must  rest  on 
historical  evidence  ;  but  so  far  as  it  is  a  system  of  truth 
and  of  motives  intended  to  bear  on  human  character 
and  well-being,  it  must  be  judged  of  by  that  reason  and 
conscience  which  God  has  given  us.  There  are  in  the 
mind,  as  God  made  it,  standards  and  tests  which  must 
ultimately  be  applied  to  it.  Men  may  be  uncandid  or 
irreverent  in  applying  these  tests,  and  so  they  may  be 
in  examining  historical  proof ;  and  I  have  no  more  fear 
in  one  case  than  in  the  other.  In  arguing  for,  or  against 
such  a  system  as  Christianity,  we  of  course  take  for 
granted  the  being  and  perfections  of  God ;  we  have 
a  previous  knowledge  of  his  works,  of  his  providence, 
of  the  difference  between  right  and  wrong,  and  of  the 
beings  for  whom  the  system  is  intended.  Let,  now,  a 
candid  man  find  in  the  system  nothing  absurd  or  im¬ 
moral,  but  many  things  that  seem  to  him  strange,  and 
little  accordant  with  what  he  would  have  expected,  and 
he  will  be  still  in  doubt.  lie  will  make  due  allowance 
for  the  imperfection  of  his  knowledge,  and  the  limits 
tion  of  his  faculties,  and  he  will  hold  his  mind  open  to 
the  full  force  of  historical  proof.  But  let  him  be  shown 
a  system  which,  though  he  could  not  have  discovered 
it,  he  can  see,  when  discovered,  to  be  worthy  of  a  God 
of  infinite  Avisdom  and  goodness,  —  let  him  find  it  con¬ 
gruous  with  all  he  knows  of  him  from  his  works,  coin¬ 
cident  with  natural  religion,  so  far  as  that  goes,  con¬ 
taining  a  perfect  morality,  harmonizing  with  the  highest 
sentiments  of  man,  and  adapted  to  his  wants  as  a  weak 
and  guilty  being,  — and  he  may  find  in  all  this  a  ground 
of  rational  conviction  that  such  a  system  must  have 
come  from  God,  and  so,  that  those  facts  which  are 


CHANGE  IN  ARRANGEMENT. 


73 


inseparably  connected  with  it  must  be  true.  The  histor¬ 
ical  testimony  may  then  be  to  him  much  as  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  the  woman  of  Samaria  was  to  her  countrymen 
after  they  had  seen  and  heard  the  Saviour  for  them¬ 
selves.  And  this  is  the  natural  course  when  any  system 
on  any  subject  is  presented  to  us.  We  inquire  what  it 
is,  and  how  far  it  agrees  with  our  previous  knowledge ; 
we  come  up  to  it,  and  examine  it,  and  then,  if  neces¬ 
sary,  we  investigate  the  history  of  its  origin. 

This  proof  logical.  —  Nor  is  this  proof  from  internal 
evidence,  as  some  seem  to  suppose,  merely  the  result 
of  feeling.  If  God  has  given  us  a  religion  which  we 
are  to  receive  in  the  exercise  of  our  reason,  and  which 
is  to  act  on  us  through  our  affections  and  in  harmony 
with  our  natural  faculties,  I  can  not  conceive  that  there 
should  not  be  found  in  it  such  congruities  and  adapta¬ 
tions  to  man,  —  such  a  fitness  to  promote  his  individual 
and  social  well-being,  —  as  to  show  that  it  came  from 
Him  who  made  man ;  and  the  proof  arising  from  a  per¬ 
ception  of  this  congruity  is  as  purely  intellectual,  as 
strictly  argumentative,  as  that  from  historical  evidence. 
In  such  a  case,  we  do  not  believe  the  religion  to  be 
true  because  we  feel  it  to  be  so,  but  because  we  see  in 
it  a  divine  wisdom,  and  the  adaptation  of  means  to  an 
end. 

Arrangement  hitherto  —  reasons  for  a  change.  —  It 
has  been  some  feeling  of  the  kind,  mentioned  above  as 
manifested  by  Chalmers  and  Wilson,  that  has  deter¬ 
mined  the  arrangement  of  every  treatise  I  know  of, 
published  either  in  England  or  this  country,  in  which 
the  external  and  internal  evidences  are  considered  to¬ 
gether.  The  external  are  treated  of  first,  are  regarded 
as  settling  the  question,  and  then  the  internal  are 
brought  in  as  confirmatory.  Certainly,  I  think  the  his¬ 
torical  evidence  conclusive,  and  it  is  indispensable,  be¬ 
cause  the  Christian  religion  is  not  a  mere  set  of  dogmas, 


74 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


or  of  speculative  opinions,  but  has  its  foundation  in 
facts.  It  is,  indeed,  a  manifestation  of  principles,  but 
not  by  verbal  statement  and  injunction  merely ;  those 
principles  are  imbodied  in  acts,  and  it  is  only  as  thus 
imbodied  that  they  have  their  effective  power.  That 
Jesus  Christ  lived,  and  was  crucified,  and  rose  from  the 
dead,  are  facts  as  necessary  to  the  Christian  religion  as 
the  foundation  to  a  building ;  and  no  one  but  a  German 
neologist  could  possibly  think  otherwise.  But  if  the 
external  evidences  are  thus  indispensable  and  conclu¬ 
sive,  so  also  are  the  internal.  What  would  have  been 
the  effect  and  force  of  Christ’s  miracles,  without  his 
spotless  and  transcendent  character?  If  I  am  to  say 
which  would  most  deeply  impress  me  with  the  fact  that 
he  was  from  God,  the  testimony  respecting  his  miracles, 
or  the  exhibition  of  such  a  character,  I  think  I  should 
say  the  latter ;  and  I  think  myself  as  well  qualified  to 
judge  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other ;  and,  as  I  have 
said,  I  think  this  is  the  evidence  which  now  first  pre¬ 
sents  itself. 

At  first,  when  the  religion  was  every  where  called 
in  question,  when  miracles  were  wrought  to  sustain  it, 
before  it  had  had  time  to  show  fully  its  adaptation  to 
the  wants  of  the  individual  man  and  of  society,  it  was 
natural  to  refer  first  to  miracles  and  to  testimony  for 
its  divine  authority ;  but  now,  when  the  religion  is 
established,  it  is  quite  as  natural  to  pass,  without  any 
particular  attention  to  the  historical  evidence,  to  the 
consideration  of  the  religion  itself,  its  suitableness  to 
what  we  know  of  God,  and  to  our  own  wants.  It  is, 
in  fact,  in  this  way  that  most  men  who  embrace  Chris¬ 
tianity  are  led  to  do  it,  and  I  do  not  think  it  either 
”  presumptuous  or  unphilosophical  ”  to  follow,  in  pre¬ 
senting  the  evidence,  the  course  which  has  been  followed 
by  most  Christians  in  attaining  that  ground  of  faith  on 
which  they  now  rest. 


CHRISTIANITY  ITSELF  TO  BE  EXAMINED. 


n 


Let  us,  then,  instead  of  going  first  through  a  long 
line  of  historical  testimony,  come  directly  to  the  Chris¬ 
tian  religion  itself.  Let  us  examine  it,  with  candor 
indeed,  but  with  perfect  freedom.  Let  us  compare  it 
with,  and  test  it  by,  whatever  we  know  of  God  or  his 
works,  or  of  man.  It  courts  such  an  examination.  It 
is  because  it  is  not  thus  examined,  that  it  is  so  little 
regarded.  We  know  that  any  system  that  comes  from 
God  must  be  worthy  of  him ;  that  it  must  be  m  har¬ 
mony  with  all  his  other  works  and  with  all  other  truth ; 
that  the  ends  proposed  by  it  must  be  good,  and  that  it 
must  be  adapted  in  the  best  manner  to  accomplish 
those  ends.  We  know,  I  say,  that  such  a  system  must 
really  be  all  this  ;  and,  in  proportion  to  our  knowledge, 
we  shall  see  it  to  be  so.  If  we  can  not  understand  it 
fully,  as  indeed,  if  it  be  what  it  claims  to  be,  we  ought 
not  to  expect  to  do,  we  may  yet  know  in  part.  W e 
live  in  an  age  of  light.  The  religion  has  been  long  in 
the  world,  and  has  come  in  contact  with  God’s  natural 
providence,  and  with  human  institutions,  at  many  points. 
It  was  intended  to  act  upon  us ;  and,  if  it  be  really 
from  God,  it  would  be  strange  if  we  could  not  find 
upon  it  some  impression  of  his  hand. 

ARGUMENT  I  . 

ANALOGY. 

General  statement . — We  say,  then,  first,  that  we 
find  evidence  of  the  divine  origin  of  the  Christian  reli¬ 
gion  in  its  analogy  to  the  works  and  natural  govern¬ 
ment  of  God.  There  is  a  harmony  of  adaptation,  and 
also  of  analogy.  The  key  is  adapted  to  the  lock ;  the 
fin  of  the  fish  is  analogous  to  the  wing  of  the  bird. 
Christianity,  as  I  hope  to  show,  is  adapted  to  man ;  it 
is  analogous  to  the  other  manifestations  which  God  has 
made  of  himself. 

The  works  of  God  are  divided  into  different  depart- 


76 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


ments,  each  of  which  has  its  laws,  which  are  in  some 
sense  independent  of  the  others ;  yet  there  is  such  a 
correspondence  manifest  between  them,  that  we  rec¬ 
ognize  them,  at  once,  as  having  proceeded  from  the 
same  hand.  Scientific  research  impresses  upon  us  the 
conviction  that  God  is  one,  and  that  he  is  uniform  and 
consistent  in  all  his  works ;  and  leads  us  to  expect,  if 
he  should  introduce  a  new  dispensation,  that  there 
would  be,  between  it  and  those  which  had  preceded  it, 
an  analogy  similar  to  that  which  had  been  found  to 
exist  between  the  other  departments.  Now,  we  affirm 
that  the  gospel  contains  that  code  of  laws  which  God 
has  given  for  the  regulation  of  the  moral  and  spiritual 
department  of  his  creation  in  this  world,  and  that 
there  is  between  it  and  the  other  works  of  God  the 
analogy  and  correspondence  which  were  to  have  been 
expected. 

The  Bible  coincident  loith  nature .  —  1.  I  observe, 
that  the  Bible  is  coincident  with  nature,  as  now  known, 
in  its  teachings  respecting  the  natural  attributes  of 
God.  The  New  Testament  seldom  dwells  upon  the 
natural  attributes  of  God ;  but  when  it  does  to  any 
extent,  as  in  the  ascription  of  Paul,  "To  the  King 
eternal,  immortal,  invisible,  the  only  wise  God,”  it 
plainly  recognizes  and  adopts  the  doctrines  of  the  Old, 
and  they  may,  therefore,  for  this  purpose,  be  fairly 
taken  together.  Let  us  go  back,  then,  to  those  ancient 
prophets.  If  we  exclude  the  idea  of  revelation,  nothing 
can  be  more  surprising  than  the  ideas  of  God  expressed 
by  them.  These  ideas,  of  themselves,  are  sufficient  to 
give  the  stamp  of  divinity  to  their  writings.  Sur¬ 
rounded  by  polytheists,  they  proclaimed  his  unity. 
Living  in  a  period  of  great  ignorance  in  regard  to  phys¬ 
ical  science,  they  ascribed  to  God  absolute  eternity, 
and  that  unchangeableness  which  is  essential  to  a  perfect 
Being,  and  they  represented  all  his  natural  attributes 


NATURE  AND  THE  BIBLE, 


77 


as  infinite.  Accordingly,  it  is  when  these  attributes 
are  their  theme,  that  their  poetry  rises  to  its  unparal¬ 
leled  sublimity.  "Who,”  says  Isaiah,  "hath  measured 
the  waters  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  and  meted  out 
heaven  with  the  span,  and  comprehended  the  dust  of 
the  earth  in  a  measure,  and  weighed  the  mountains  in 
scales  and  the  hills  in  a  balance  ?  ”  Even  now,  when 
science  has  brought  her  report  from  the  depths  of  infi¬ 
nite  space,  and  told  us  of  the  suns  and  systems  that 
glow  and  circle  there,  how  can  we  better  express  our 
emotions  than  to  adopt  his  language,  and  say,  "Lift  up 
your  eyes  on  high,  and  behold  who  hath  created  these 
things,  that  bringeth  out  their  host  by  number :  He 
calleth  them  ail  by  names,  by  the  greatness  of  his  might, 
for  that  he  is  strong  in  power  ;  not  one  faileth.”  And 
when  science  has  turned  her  glass  in  another  direction, 
and  discovered  in  the  teeming  drop  wonders  scarcely 
less  than  those  in  the  heavens  ;  when  she  has  analyzed 
matter ;  when  she  has  disentangled  the  rays  of  light, 
and  shown  the  colors  of  which  its  white  web  is  woven , 
when  the  amazing  structure  of  vegetable  and  animal 
bodies  is  laid  open ;  what  can  we  say  of  Him  who 
worketh  all  this,  but  that  lie  is  "wonderful  in  counsel, 
and  excellent  in  working  ”  !  "  There  is  no  searching  of 

his  understanding.”  And  when,  again,  we  can  look 
back  over  near  three  thousand  years  more,  in  which  the 
earth  has  rolled  on  its  appointed  way,  and  the  mighty 
energies  by  which  all  things  are  moved  have  been  sus¬ 
tained,  what  can  we  do  but  to  ask,  "  Hast  thou  not 
known,  hast  thou  not  heard,  that  the  everlasting  God, 
the  Lord,  the  Creator  of  the  ends  of  the  earth,  fainteth 
not,  neither  is  weary?”  With  them  we  find  no  ten¬ 
dency,  as  among  the  ancient  philosophers,  to  ascribe 
eternity  to  matter  ;  they  every  where  speak  of  it  as  cre¬ 
ated  ;  nor,  with  the  pantheists,  to  identify  matter  with 
God ;  nor,  with  the  idolater,  to  be  affected  with  its 


78  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

magnitude,  or  forms,  or  order,  or  brightness,  or  what- 
ever  may  strike  the  senses.  But,  wdth  them,  all  matter 
is  perfectly  subordinate  and  paltry  when  compared  with 
God.  They  represent  him  as  sustaining  it  for  a  time 
in  its  present  order,  and  then  as  folding  up  these  visible 
heavens  as  a  vesture  is  folded,  and  laying  them  aside. 
Nothing  could  more  perfectly  express  the  absolute  in¬ 
finity  of  the  natural  attributes  of  God,  or  the  entire 
separation  and  disparity  between  him  and  every  thing 
that  is  called  the  universe,  or  its  complete  subjection 
to  his  will. 

Now,  that  men,  undistinguished  from  others  around 
them  by  learning,  in  an  age  of  prevalent  polytheism 
and  idolatry,  and  of  great  ignorance  of  physical  science, 
should  adopt  such  doctrines  respecting  the  natural  attri¬ 
butes  of  God,  as  to  require  no  modification  when  sci¬ 
ence  has  been  revolutionized  and  expanded  as  it  were 
into  a  new  universe,  does  seem  to  me  no  slight  evidence 
that  they  were  inspired  by  that  God  whose  attributes 
they  set  forth. 

Perfection  of  natural  and  moral  law.  —  2.  I  observe, 
that  there  is  an  analogy  between  the  laws  of  nature,  as 
discovered  by  induction,  and  the  moral  laws  contained 
in  the  New  Testament,  not  only  as  implying  the  same 
natural  attributes  in  God,  but  as  they  are  carried  out  to 
the  same  perfection.  It  is  the  great  and  sublime  char¬ 
acteristic  of  natural  law,  especially  of  the  law  of  grav¬ 
itation,  that,  while  it  controls  so  perfectly  such  vast 
masses,  and  at  such  amazing  distances,  it  yet  also  con¬ 
trols  equally  the  minutest  particle  that  floats  in  the  sun¬ 
beam  ;  and  that,  however  wildly  that  particle  may  be 
driven,  —  wdierever  it  may  float  in  the  infinity  of 
space,  —  it  never,  for  one  moment,  escapes  the  cogni¬ 
zance  and  supervision  of  this  law.  It  never  can.  This 
implies  a  minuteness  and  perfection  of  natural  govern¬ 
ment,  of  which  science,  as  known  in  the  time  of  Christ, 


NATURAL  AND  MORAL  LAW  PERFECT. 


79 


could  have  given  no  intimation.  But  now,  liow  natural 
does  it  seem  that  the  same  God,  who,  in  the  universal 
control  of  his  natural  law,  no  more  neglects  the  minu¬ 
test  particle  than  the  largest  planet,  should  also,  in  his 
moral  law,  take  cognizance  of  every  idle  word,  and  of 
the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart !  Yes  ;  1  find,  in 
the  particle  of  dust,  shown  "by  the  greatest  expounder 
of  God’s  natural  law  to  be  constantly  regarded  by  him, 
and  in  the  idle  word  declared  by  Christ  to  come  under 
the  notice  and  condemnation  of  his  moral  law,  —  I  find, 
in  the  minuteness  and  completeness  of  .the  government 
of  matter,  as  revealed  by  modem  science,  and  even 
shown  to  the  eye  by  the  microscope,  and  in  that  inter¬ 
pretation  of  the  moral  law  which  makes  it  spiritual, 
causing  it  to  reach  every  thought  and  intent  of  the 
heart,  — -  a  conception  of  the  same  absolute  perfection 
of  government,  both  in  the  natural  and  moral  world ; 
and  I  find  the  same  infinite  natural  attributes  implied 
as  the  sole  conditions  on  which  such  a  government  in 
either  of  these  departments  can  be  carried  on. 

This  idea  of  the  absolute  universality  and  perfection 
of  government  in  any  department  —  the  only  one,  how¬ 
ever,  worthy  of  a  perfect  God  —  is  not  an  idea,  espe¬ 
cially  in  its  moral  applications,  which  I  should  think 
likely  to  have  originated  with  man.  In  the  depart¬ 
ment  of  nature  we  know  that  he  did  not  originate  or 
suspect  it  till  it  was  forced  on  his  observation.  And 
how  comes  it  to  pass  that  this  absolute  perfection  of 
moral  government,  this  notice  of  the  particle  of  dust 
there,  this  judgment  of  every  idle  word,  of  every  secret 
thing,  of  the  minutest  moral  act  of  the  most  inconsid¬ 
erable  moral  being  that  ever  lived,  should  have  been 
discovered  and  announced  thousands  of  years  before  its 
more  obvious  counterpart  in  the  natural  world  was  even 
suspected  ? 

And  here  I  can  not  but  notice,  though  I  will  not  put 


80 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


it  under  a  separate  head,  how  coincident  all  that  sci¬ 
ence  has  discovered  is  with  the  Scripture  doctrine  of 
the  universal  and  particular  providential  government 
of  God.  We  all  know  how  slow  men  have  been  to 
receive  this  ;  and  yet  it  would  seem  that  no  theist,  with 
a  clear  perception  of  the  mode  in  which  natural  law 
operates,  could  doubt  it.  Does  God  control  constantly 
immense  masses  of  matter  through  natural  law  ?  How  ? 
Why,  by  causing  the  law  to  operate,  not  upon  the 
mass  as  a  whole,  but  upon  every  individual  particle 
composing  that  mass ;  that  is,  he  governs  the  vast 
through  his  government  of  the  minute.  And  if  he  does 
this  in  matter,  who  will  deny  the  probability  of  a  prov¬ 
idential  care,  proceeding  on  precisely  the  same  prin¬ 
ciples,  which  numbers  the  hairs  of  our  heads,  and 
watches  the  fall  of  the  sparrow?  Shall  God  care  for 
the  less  and  not  for  the  greater  ?  ”  If  he  so  clothe  the 

grass  of  the  field,  shall  he  not  much  more  clothe  you, 
O  ye  of  little  faith  ?  ” 

Kind  and  limit  of  knowledge.  —  3.  I  observe,  that 
there  is  an  analogy,  both  in  their  kind  and  in  their 
limit,  between  the  knowledge  communicated  by  nature 
and  that  by  Christianity.  Nature  is  full  and  explicit  in 
her  communication  of  necessary  practical  facts,  but  is 
at  no  pains  to  explain  the  reasons  and  methods  of  those 
facts.  She  gives  us  the  air  to  breathe,  and  we  are  in¬ 
vigorated  ;  but  she  does  not  teach  us  that  it  is  composed 
of  oxygen  and  nitrogen,  and  that  our  vigor  comes  from 
the  oxygen  alone.  She  gives  us  the  light,  and  we  see  ; 
but  how  long  did  the  world  stand  before  she  whispered 
to  any  one  that  that  light  was  composed  of  the  seven 
primary  colors  ?  She  instructs  us  in  the  uses  of  fire  ; 
but  she  does  not  teach  us  how  the  process  of  combus¬ 
tion  is  carried  on.  Men  have  boiled  water  equally  well 
from  the  beginning ;  but  it  was  left  to  this  age,  and  to 
Faraday,  to  discover  that  flame  is  the  product  of  elec- 


KNOWLEDGE  IMPARTED  PRACTICAL. 


81 


trical  agency.  She  teaches  us  the  facts  ;  she  enables 
us  to  go  through  the  practical  processes  ;  and  then  she 
leaves  us  to  find  our  way  as  we  best  may  through  the 
philosophy  of  those  facts. 

And  so  it  is  with  the  knowledge  communicated  by 
Christianity.  There  is  not  a  great  practical  fact  which 
a  moral  being  can  ask  to  know,  concerning  which  it 
does  not  speak  with  perfect  distinctness.  The  fact  of  a 
full  and  a  perfect  accountability,  and  of  a  future  retri¬ 
bution, —  the  fact  of  immortality,  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  of  a  particular  providence,  of  the  freedom 
of  man,  of  his  dependence  upon  God,  and  of  the  mercy 
of  God  to  returning  penitents,  —  each  of  these  is  made 
known  with  entire  fullness  and  explicitness  ;  but  very 
little  is  said  respecting  the  philosophy  of  these  facts, 
or  the  mode  in  which  they  may  be  reconciled  to  each 
other.  The  Bible  gives  the  information  that  is  needed, 
and  there  it  stops.  It  communicates  practical,  and 
never  speculative  knowledge  as  such. 

Now,  when  we  consider  that  Christianity  solves,  in 
its  own  way,  all  the  great  questions  relating  to  human 
destiny,  it  must  be  regarded  as  remarkable,  that,  in 
communicating  this  information,  it  should  thus  stop 
precisely  where  nature  stops.  When  we  consider  how 
strong  the  tendency  must  have  been  to  unaided  human 
nature  to  gratify  and  excite  man  by  particular  descrip¬ 
tions  of  other  worlds  and  of  things  unseen,  so  naturally 
to  be  expected  from  a  messenger  from  those  worlds  ; 
when  we  consider  how  strong  a  hold  the  fanatic  and 
the  impostor  gain  upon  the  imagination  of  their  follow¬ 
ers  by  such  means ,  and  that,  without  miracles  and 
without  evidence,  this  is,  indeed,  the  chief  hold  they 
can  have  upon  them ;  and  when  we  observe  the  course 
taken  at  this  point  by  all  others  who  have  pretended 
to  revelation,  we  shall  not  estimate  this  argument 


82 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Christianity  and  other  systems .  —  How  different  the 
course  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  in  this  respect,  from 
that  of  the  writers  of  the  Shasters,  and  of  Mohammed ! 
When  Christ  and  his  apostles  speak  of  a  future  world 
of  reward  and  of  punishment,  it  is,  indeed,  in  such 
terms  as  to  produce  a  strong  moral  impression,  but  it 
is  still  with  a  severe  and  cautious  reserve.  Those  terms 
are  general.  There  is  no  dwelling  upon  particulars,  as 
if  for  the  purpose  of  gratifying  curiosity,  or  giving  a 
loose  rein  to  the  imagination.  They  speak  of  "the 
kingdom  of  heaven,”  of  "  everlasting  life,”  of  "  a  crown 
of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away,”  of  "  life  and  immortal¬ 
ity,”  of  "many  mansions,”  and  a  "Father’s  house;” 
but  then  they  say,  "Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 
neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things 
which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him.”  So, 
on  the  other  hand,  they  speak  of  "the  lire  that  never 
shall  be  quenched,”  "  where  their  worm  dieth  not,  and 
the  lire  is  not  quenched;  ”  of  the  "everlasting  fire,  pre¬ 
pared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels  ;  ”  of  "  everlasting 
destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from 
the  glory  of  his  power  ;  ”  of  "  the  blackness  of  darkness 
forever  ;  ”  but  they  descend  into  no  minute  descriptions. 
Not  so  Mohammed.  Speaking  of  heaven,  he  says, 
"There  are  they  who  shall  approach  near  unto  God. 
They  shall  dwell  in  gardens  of  delight.  Youths,  which 
shall  continue  in  their  bloom  forever,  shall  go  round 
about  to  attend  them  with  goblets  and  beakers,  and  a 
cup  of  flowing  wine,  —  their  heads  shall  not  ache  by 
drinking  the  same,  neither  shall  their  reason  be  dis¬ 
turbed  ;  and  with  fruits  of  the  roots  which  they  shall 
choose,  and  the  flesh  of  birds  of  the  kind  which  they 
shall  desire.  And  there  shall  accompany  them  fair 
damsels,  having  large  black  eyes  resembling  pearls 
hidden  in  their  shells,  as  a  reward  for  that  which  they 


MOHAMMEDANISM . 


83 


have  wrought.”*  "But  as  for  the  sincere  servants  of 


God,  they  shall  have  a  certain  provision  in  paradise, 
namely,  delicious  fruits  ;  and  they  shall  be  honored ; 
they  shall  be  placed  in  gardens  of  pleasure,  leaning  on 
couches,  opposite  to  one  another ;  a  cup  shall  be  carried 
round  unto  them,  filled  from  a  limpid  fountain,  for  the 
delight  of  those  who  drink,  —  it  shall  not  oppress  their 
understanding,  neither  shall  they  be  inebriated  there¬ 
with.  And  near  them  shall  lie  the  virgins  of  paradise, 
refraining  their  looks  from  beholding  any  besides  their 
spouses,  having  large  black  eyes,  and  resembling  the 
eggs  of  an  ostrich  covered  with  feathers  from  the 
dust.”  f  So,  also,  speaking  of  the  world  of  punish¬ 
ment,  he  says,  "  Those  who  believe  not  have  garments 
of  fire  fitted  to  them ;  boiling  water  shall  be  poured  on 
their  heads ;  their  bowels  shall  be  dissolved  thereby, 
and  also  their  skin ;  and  they  shall  be  beaten  with 
maces  of  iron.  So  often  as  they  shall  endeavor  to  get 
out  of  hell  because  of  the  anguish  of  their  torments, 
they  shall  be  dragged  back  into  the  same,  and  their 
tormentors  shall  say,  '  Taste  ye  the  pains  of  burning.’  ”  J 
"It  shall  be  said  unto  them,  Go  ye  into  the  punishment 
which  ye  denied  as  a  falsehood  :  go  ye  into  the  smoke  of 
hell,  which  shall  arise  in  three  volumes,  and  shall  not 
shade  you  from  the  heat,  neither  shall  it  be  of  service 
against  the  flame  ;  but  it  shall  cast  forth  sparks  as  big  as 
towers,  resembling  yellow  camels  in  color.”  §  We  can 
now  see  that  the  stern  refusal  on  the  part  of  Christ  and 
his  disciples  to  lift  the  vail  and  show  us  the  invisible 
world  was  not  only  analogous  to  the  course  of  nature, 
but  that  it  was  the  only  course  compatible  with  good 
sense  and  sound  philosophy.  But  why  have  these  men, 
of  ail  those  who  have  made  pretensions  to  inspiration, 


*  Koran,  chap.  lvi.  Sale’s  edition, 
t  Koran,  chap,  xxxvii 


%  Koran,  chap.  xxii. 

§  Koran,  chap,  xxvii. 


84 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


thus  kept  upon  that  difficult  line  which  so  commends 
itself  to  the  sober  judgment  of  the  thinking  part  of 
mankind  ? 

Christianity  and  nature  —  relation  to  the  infinite  and 
mysterious.  —  And  not  less  striking  is  the  analogy 
between  the  limits  of  that  knowledge  which  is  obtained 
from  nature  and  that  which  is  obtained  from  the  Bible ; 
or,  to  express  my  thought  more  exactly,  between  the 
mode  in  which  what  is  made  known  in  both  cases,  runs 
out  into  an  infinite  unknown.  However  long,  and  in 
whatever  department  the  student  of  nature  may  labor, 
he  finds  himself  no  nearer  the  completion  of  his  knowl¬ 
edge  ;  and,  as  he  passes  on,  he  is  ready  to  exclaim, 
with  Burke,  "  What  subject  is  there  that  does  not 
branch  out  into  infinity  !  ”  Even  when  most  successful, 
he  compares  himself  to  a  "child  picking  up  pebbles 
upon  the  beach,  while  the  great  ocean  of  truth  is  still 
before  him.”  The  intellectual  vision  of  one  man  may 
extend  further  than  that  of  another ;  he  may  have  a 
wider  horizon ;  but  to  both  alike  the  sky  closes  down 
upon  the  mountains,  and  what  is  known  stretches  off 
into  the  infinity  that  is  unknown.  Nature  places  us  in 
the  midst  of  infinity.  She  intimates  a  probable  con¬ 
nection  between  our  planet  and  the  myriads  of  worlds 
which  float  in  space ;  she  suggests,  by  analogy,  the 
probability  of  a  moral  and  intellectual  system  corre¬ 
sponding  in  extent  to  the  greatness  of  the  physical 
universe ;  she  awakens  our  curiosity  respecting  the 
forms  and  modes  of  being  of  those  who  dwell  in  the 
stellar  worlds ;  but  she  gives  us  no  means  of  gratifying 
our  curiosity.  The  language  of  nature  to  man  is,  'You 
are  a  pupil,  upon  one  form,  in  the  great  school  of  God’s 
discipline.  You  are  permitted  to  conjecture  that  there 
are  other  and  higher  forms,  but  to  know  nothing  of 
what  is  taught  there.  Your  business  is  to  learn  the 
lessons  which  are  taught  here,  and  be  content,  though 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  NATURE  MYSTERIOUS. 


85 


you  can  not  but  see  that  all  known  truth  has  relations 
with  much  more  that  is  unknown.’  And  just  so  it  is 
with  the  Bible.  It  does  not  present  us  with  a  defined 
system  of  truth,  squared  by  the  scientific  rule  and  com- 
pass,  which  the  human  mind  can  master  and  compre¬ 
hend.  Its  truths  take  hold  oil  the  eternity  that  is  past, 
and  stretch  on  into  that  which  is  to  come.  Does  nature 
lead  us  into  deep  mysteries  ?  So  does  the  Bible.  Does 
she  leave  us  there,  to  wonder  and  adore?  So  does  the 
Bible.  We  claim  mysteries  as  a  part  of  Christianity . 
We  say  that  a  religion  coming  from  the  God  of  nature 
could  not  be  without  them.  We  are  nothing  moved 
by  the  sneer  of  the  infidel  when  he  asks,  "  What  kind 
of  a  revelation  is  the  revelation  of  a  mystery?”  We 
say  to  him  that  it  is  the  revelation  of  a  fact,  all  the 
modes  and  relations  of  which  are  not  known,  or  which 
may  seem  to  conflict  with  something  already  known 
and  that,  in  the  revelation  of  portions  of  an  infinite 
scheme  to  a  finite  mind,  facts  thus  related  would  be 
naturally  expected.  Is  no  revelation  of  any  value  but 
that  which  is  clear,  full,  and  distinct?  What  kind  of  a 
revelation  is  that  which  nature  makes  of  the  starry 
heavens  —  dim,  remote,  obscure,  suggesting  a  thousand 
questions,  and  answering  none?  And  yet  even  this  is 
of  infinite  value  to  man.  And  thus  it  is  that  the  Bible 
tal  ;es  it  for  granted  that  there  are  other  orders  of  intel¬ 
ligent  beings,  angels  and  archangels,  principalities  and 
powers,  heavenly  hosts  innumerable — just  such  an 
intellectual  and  moral  system  as  we  might  suppose  from 
our  present  knowledge  of  the  works  of  God ;  but  no 
particulars  are  given  ;  it  merely  shows  them  as  the  night 
shows  the  stars,  and,  like  nature,  it  leaves  us  standing 
in  the  midst  of  infinity,  with  a  thousand  questions  unan¬ 
swered.  Now,  I  can  not  help  thinking,  if  the  Bible  had 
been  made  by  man,  that  it  would  either  have  been  a 
system  perfectly  defined,  with  the  clearness,  and  at  the 


36 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


same  time,  the  shallowness,  of  the  human  intellect ;  or 
it  would  have  been  wild,  and  extravagant,  and  vague  ; 
or  it  would  have  pretended  to  lay  open  minutely  the 
secrets  of  distant  and  future  worlds. 

Temper  of  mind  required.  —  4.  I  observe,  that  there 
is  an  analogy  or  correspondence  between  the  works  of 
God  and  the  Bible,  such  as  we  had  a  right  to  expect, 
if  both  came  from  him,  because  a  similar  temper  and 
attitude  of  mind  is  required  for  the  successful  study  of 
both.  The  identity  of  that  spirit,  which  Christ  inculcates 
as  the  essential  prerequisite  to  the  proper  understanding 
and  reception  of  the  great  truths  which  he  taught,  with 
the  true  philosophic  spirit,  was  first  noticed  by  Bacon. 
He  says,  in  very  remarkable  words,  "  The  kingdom  of 
man,  which  was  founded  on  the  sciences,  can  not  be  en¬ 
tered  otherwise  than  the  kingdom  of  God  ,  that  is,  in  the 
'Condition  of  a  little  child.”  The  meaning  and  the  truth 
of  this  will  lie  manifest  from  a  moment’s  attention  to 
the  history  of  science.  So  long  as  man  attempted  to 
theorize,  and  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  God,  to  determine 
what  he  ought  to  have  done,  instead  of  taking  the  atti¬ 
tude  of  a  learner  before  the  book  of  nature,  nothing 
can  exceed  the  puerilities  and  absurdities  into  which  he 
fell.  But  the  moment  he  laid  aside  the  pride  of  theory, 
and  took  the  humble  attitude  of  a  learner  and  observer, 
an  interpreter  of  nature,  science  began  to  advance. 
Man  talked  of  rearing  the  temple  of  science,  as  if  it 
were  to  be  constructed  by  him.  But,  as  far  as  there  is 
any  temple,  it  has  stood,  as  it  now  stands,  in  its  impos¬ 
ing  majesty,  since  the  creation  of  the  works  of  God ; 
and  all  that  man  can  do  is  to  unvail  that  temple,  and 
show  its  fair  proportions.  The  true  philosopher  does 
not  think  of  rearing  any  thing  of  his  own.  He  feels 
that  he  is  a  learner,  and  a  learner  only  at  the  feet  of 
nature.  He  represses  entirely  the  imagination,  however 
beautiful  and  enticing  may  be  the  theories  which  it 


NEED  OF  HUMILITY. 


87 


would  form ;  rejects  all  prejudice  and  preconceived 
opinion ;  and  follows  fearlessly  wherever  observation, 
and  experiment,  and  facts,  may  lead  him. 

Is  it  said  that  there  have  been  great  philosophers 
who  have  been  infidels,  and  have  not  had  this  spirit? 
I  answer,  no.  There  have  been  second-rate  philoso¬ 
phers,  who  have  distinguished  themselves  by  following 
out  the  discoveries  of  greater  men ;  but  all  the  great 
discoverers,  those  whose  minds  have  sympathized  most 
intensely  with  nature,  have  been  distinguished  for  this 
spirit.* 

But  that  this  spirit  and  temper  are  required  by  the 
gospel  in  order  to  a  knowledge  of  that,  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  show.  There  we  find  the  original  requi¬ 
sition  to  become  as  a  little  child.  It  requires  every 
imagination  to  be  brought  down,  and  every  high  thing 
that  exalteth  itself  against  the  knowledge  of  God  ;  and 
that  every  thought  should  be  brought  into  captivity  to 
the  obedience  of  Christ.  No  progress  can  be  made 
in  religion,  or  in  science,  till  the  pride  which  exalts 
itself  to  judge  over  God,  and  to  decide  what  he  ought 
to  have  done,  is  repressed,  and  till  the  man  takes  his 
place  as  a  learner  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  as  the  philoso¬ 
pher  takes  his  place  at  the  feet  of  nature.  So  coinci¬ 
dent  is  the  spirit  of  true  religion  and  of  true  philosophy  ; 
so  perfectly  did  our  Saviour  express  the  true  spirit  of 
both  eighteen  hundred  years  ago.  Wonderful  indeed 
is  it  that,  when  the  great  expounder  of  method  in 
natural  science  would  express  the  true  spirit  of  the  true 
method,  he  should  find  no  fitter  words  than  those  used 
by  Christ,  before  the  inductive  philosophy  was  dreamed 
of,  to  express  the  proper  method  of  study  in  a  higher 
department  of  the  kingdom  and  government  of  God- 
If,  then,  nature  and  revelation  are  thus  similarly  related 
to  the  human  mind,  they  must  be  analogous  to  each  other. 


*  See  Whcwell’s  Bridgewater  Treatise 


88 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Mode  and  results  of  teaching. — In  close  connection 
with  this  head,  I  observe  that,  so  far  as  nature  teaches 
natural  religion  and  moral  truth,  there  is  an  analogy 
between  both  the  mode  and  the  results  of  her  teaching 
and  those  of  Christianity.  Nothing  can  be  more  evi¬ 
dent  than  that  the  condition  in  which  God  intended 
man  should  be  placed,  in  this  world,  is  that  of  a  pro¬ 
bation,  in  which  there  should  be  no  overwhelming  force, 
or  preponderance  of  motives,  on  either  side ;  in  which 
a  wrong  choice  should  be  possible,  and  a  right  one  often 
difficult.  No  other  supposition  accords  with  the  limited 
knowledge  of  man,  or  with  the  mixed  and  balanced 
motives  in  the  midst  of  which  he  must  often  act. 
Accordingly,  while  the  moral  and  religious  teachings 
of  nature  are  real  and  valid,  and  he  that  has  ears  to 
hear  may  hear,  they  are  yet  never  obtrusive.  The 
voice  of  those  teachings  is  a  still,  small  voice,  easily 
drowned  by  the  roar  of  passion  or  by  the  din  of  the 
world,  but  sweet  and  powerful  in  the  ear  of  those  who 
are  willing  to  listen.  Accordingly,  nothing  is  easier, 
or  more  common,  than  for  men  "  to  quench  the  light  of 
natural  virtue  by  a  course  of  profligacy,  and  to  acquire 
contempt  for  all  goodness  by  familiarity  with  vice.” 
This  is  the  method  in  which  nature  teaches  moral  and 
religious  truth,  lifting  up  always  the  same  quiet  voice, 
whether  men  will  hear  or  whether  they  will  forbear ; 
and  these  are  the  results.  Christianity  keeps  to  the 
principle  of  that  method,  nor  are  the  results  different 
in  kind.  Whether  we  consider  the  evidence  for  its 
divine  origin,  or  the  moral  truths  which  it  inculcates, 
we  find  that,  while  it  has  such  evidence  as  to  be  satis¬ 
factory  to  those  who  will  attend  to  it,  yet  that  it  does 
not  force  that  evidence  upon  the  attention  of  any. 
Here  the  voice  is  indeed  a  louder  voice,  and  he  that 
hath  ears  may  hear ;  but  it  does  not  compel  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  men.  Accordingly,  as  we  find  men  disregarding 


THEIR  TEACHINGS  UNOBTRUSIVE. 


89 


the  teachings  of  natural  conscience,  and  the  general 
maxims  of  virtue,  so  also  do  we  find  them  remaining1 
in  ignorance,  and  consequent  contempt,  of  God’s  reve¬ 
lation. 

I  know  that  this  feature  of  revelation  has  been  made 
an  objection  against  it.  It  has  been  said  that,  if  God 
had  given  a  revelation,  he  would  have  accompanied  it 
with  evidence  that  must  have  forced  conviction  upon 
every  mind  —  that  he  would  have  written  it  upon  the 
heavens ;  but  the  objector  does  not  consider  that,  in 
that  case,  this  would  have  been  no  longer  a  place  of 
probation,  and  the  revelation  of  the  gospel  not  at  all  in 
keeping  with  the  revelation  of  nature.  Are  the  great 
truths  of  natural  religion  written  upon  the  heavens? 
Are  the  common  maxims  of  temperance,  and  integrity, 
and  benevolence,  forced  upon  the  attention  of  all? 
Instead,  therefore,  of  finding,  in  the  unobtrusive  nature 
of  the  evidence  and  claims  of  Christianity,  an  argument 
against  it,  I  find,  in  these  very  circumstances,  an  argu¬ 
ment  that  if  is  from  that  God  who  has  caused  the  light 
of  natural  religion,  and  even  the  light  of  science,  to 
exist  in  the  world  under  precisely  the  same  conditions. 

A  system  of  means,  —  5.  I  observe,  that  Christianity 
is  in  harmony  with  the  works  of  God,  because  it  is  a 
system  of  means.*  It  is  asked,  by  some,  if  God  wishes 
the  holiness  of  men,  why  he  does  not  make  them  holy 
at  once ;  and  that  he  should  take  a  long  course  of 
means,  to  accomplish  his  wish,  is  objected  to  as  deroga¬ 
tory  both  to  his  power  and  to  his  wisdom.  But,  surely, 
1  need  not  say  that  all  nature  is  a  system  of  means  — 
that  the  end  to  be  accomplished  never  is  accomplished 
without  the  means,  and  that  those  means  often  require 
the  lapse  of  ages  before  this  end  is  obtained.  No  doubt 
God  could  create  a  tree  at  once  in  its  full  perfection ; 
but,  instead  of  this,  he  causes  it  to  germinate  from  a 


*  Butler’s  Analogy,  part  2,  chap.  4. 


90 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


little  seed,  and  makes  his  sun  shine  upon  it,  and  waters 
it  with  showers,  and  subjects  it  to  the  vicissitudes  of 
the  seasons,  (during  portions  of  which  it  seems  to 
make  no  progress,)  till,  at  length,  it  towers  toward 
heaven,  and  defies  the  storms  of  ages.  So  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  in  the  soul  is  like  a  grain  of  mustard-seed, 
which  is  indeed  the  least  of  all  seeds  ;  but  God  causes 
it  to  spring  up,  and  shines  upon  it  with  the  light  of  his 
countenance,  and  waters  it  with  the  dews  of  his  grace, 
till  it  becomes  a  plant  bearing  fruit  in  the  garden  of 
God.  And  yet  those  who  believe  that  nature  is  of 
God,  object  to  the  gospel  because  of  the  very  circum¬ 
stances  in  which  it  harmonizes  with  his  other  works. 

And  here  I  mention  a  ground  of  misapprehension 
which  is  common  to  nature  and  to  Christianity.  A 
system  of  means  implies  the  gradual  development  of  a 
plan,  and  of  course  the  plan  must  present  very  different 
aspects  to  those  who  view  it  in  its  different  stages. 
There  are  some  processes  in  nature  that  could  not  have 
been  understood  in  the  first  ages  of  the  world.  Thus 
the  periods  and  motions  of  some  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
were  so  obscure  and  complicated,  that  it  required  the 
observation  and  study  of  near  six  thousand  years  to 
understand  and  reduce  them  to  system ;  and  the  eye  of 
the  philosopher  who  scanned  those  bodies  before  such 
observations  could  be  made,  must  have  remained  unsat¬ 
isfied  and  perplexed.  He  saw  the  light  of  the  bodies, 
and  walked  in  it ;  but  he  could  not  understand  the 
philosophy  and  harmony  of  their  motions.  So  it  is 
with  Christianity.  While  it  gives  freely  the  practical 
light  which  is  necessary  to  our  guidance,  men  have 
been  very  differently  situated  in  regard  to  their  oppor¬ 
tunities  of  judging  of  its  philosophy.  Respecting  this 
they  have  judged,  and  still  judge,  very  differently,  and 
probably  none  of  them,  in  all  points,  correctly.  They 
are  not  yet  in  the  right  position.  Place  a  man  in  the 


BOTH  SYSTEMS  REMEDIAL. 


91 


sun,  and  he  will  be  an  astronomer  at  once.  His  posi¬ 
tion  will  enable  him  to  see  the  motions  of  the  planets 
just  as  they  are.  And  Christianity  speaks  of  just  such 
a  point,  in  relation  to  itself  and  the  moral  government 
of  God,  where  every  man  will  hereafter  be  placed.  It 
speaks  of  a  "  day  of  the  restitution  of  all  things.”  In 
the  mean  time,  those  who  refuse  to  be  governed  by  the 
practical  light  of  Christianity,  because  they  can  not 
understand  certain  points  of  its  philosophy,  pursue  the 
same  course  as  those  philosophers  who  lived  before  the 
time  of  Newton  would  have  done,  if  they  had  shut 
their  eyes  upon  the  light  of  the  moon  because  they 
could  not  understand  its  motions. 

A  remedial  system .  —  6.  I  observe,  that  Christianity 
is  analogous  to  the  system  of  nature  because  it  is  a 
remedial  system.*  When  the  body  is  diseased,  when 
a  limb  is  broken,  when  gangrene  commences,  nature 
does  not  certainly  leave  the  man  to  perish.  She  has 
provided  a  remedial  system ;  and  if  the  proper  reme¬ 
dies  are  applied  in  season,  the  man  may  be  restored. 
Now,  what  this  remedial  system  is  in  the  course  of 
nature,  Christianity  is  in  the  moral  government  of  God. 
It  comes  to  us  in  the  same  way,  not  as  to  the  whole , 
but  as  to  the  sick,  and  offers  us  assistance  upon  similar 
conditions.  The  man  who  is  sick  must  have  sufficient 
faith  in  the  remedy  to  give  it  a  fair  trial,  and  so  must  he 
who  would  be  benefited  by  Christianity.  The  remedial 
system  of  nature  often  requires  the  suffering  of  great 
present  pain,  that  greater  future  pain  may  be  avoided  ; 
and  Christianity  requires  self-denials  and  sacrifices 
which  are  so  difficult,  that  they  are  compared  to  the 
cutting  off  of  a  right  hand,  and  the  plucking  out  of  a 
right  eye.  The  remedial  system  of  nature  does  not 
free  the  sick  man  at  once  from  all  the  painful  conse¬ 
quences  of  his  disease.  He  suffers,  and,  it  may  be* 


*  Butler,  part  2,  chap.  3. 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


92 


lingers  long  under  it,  in  spite  of  the  best  remedies.  So 
he  who  receives  Christianity  does  not  escape  at  once  all 
the  painful  consequences  of  sin.  He  suffers  and  dies 
on  account  of  it ;  but  the  remedy  is  sovereign,  and 
through  it  he  shall  finally  be  delivered  from  sin  alto¬ 
gether,  and  restored  to  perfect  moral  soundness.  Na¬ 
ture  makes  no  distinctions.  The  pains  which  she 
inflicts  are  as  severe,  and  the  remedies  which  she  offers 
are  as  bitter,  to  one  as  to  another.  Christianity,  also, 
is  entirely  impartial.  All  who  receive  it  must  receive 
it  on  the  same  humbling  terms,  and  upon  all  who  will 
not  receive  it,  it  denounces  the  same  fearful  punishment. 
Under  this  head,  therefore,  we  find  a  very  close  analogy 
between  the  mode  of  administration  in  nature  and  that 
which  is  revealed  by  Christianity. 

A  mediatorial  system. — 7.  I  observe,  that  Chris¬ 
tianity  is  analogous  to  the  system  of  nature  because  it 
is  a  mediatorial  system.  In  mentioning  this,  I  do  not 
intend  to  enter  upon  any  controverted  ground,  for  all 
admit  that,  through  the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ, 
voluntarily  undergone,  we  receive  at  least  great  tem¬ 
poral  benefits  ;  and  what  I  contend  for  is,  that,  whether 
we  confine  his  interposition  and  mediation  to  this  low 
sense,  or  suppose  it  the  sole  ground  of  pardon,  still 
the  principle,  as  one  of  mediation,  is  not  changed,  and 
is  in  accordance  with  what  constantly  passes  under  our 
notice  in  the  natural  government  of  God.  "  The  world,” 
says  Butler,  "is  a  constitution,  or  system,  whose  parts 
have  a  mutual  reference  to  each  other ;  and  there  is  a 
scheme  of  things  gradually  carrying  on,  called  the 
course  of  nature,  to  the  carrying  on  of  which  God  has 
appointed  us  in  various  ways  to  contribute.  And  when, 
in  the  daily  course  of  natural  providence,  it  is  appointed 
that  innocent  people  should  suffer  for  the  faults  of  the 
guilty,  this  is  liable  to  the  very  same  objection  as  the 
instance  we  are  now  considering.  The  infinitely  greater 


ANALOGY  CONCLUDED. 


93 


importance  of  that  appointment  of  Christianity,  which 
is  objected  against,  does  not  hinder,  but  it  may  be,  as 
it  plainly  is,  an  appointment  of  the  very  same  kind 
as  that  which  the  world  affords  us  daily  examples  of.” 
"Men,  by  their  follies,  run  themselves  into  extreme 
distress  and  difficulties,  which  would  be  absolutely  fatal 
to  them  were  it  not  for  the  interposition  and  assistance 
of  others.  God  commands,  by  the  law  of  nature,  that 
we  afford  them  this  assistance,  in  many  cases  where  we 
can  not  do  it  without  very  great  pains,  and  labor,  and 
suffering  to  ourselves,  And  we  see  in  what  variety  of 
ways  one  person’s  sufferings  contribute  to  the  relief  of 
another,  and  how  this  follows  from  the  constitution  and 
laws  of  nature  which  come  under  our  notice  ;  and,  being 
familiarized  to  it,  men  are  not  shocked  with  it.  So 
that  the  reason  of  their  insisting  upon  objections  of  the 
foregoing  kind  against  the  satisfaction  of  Christ,  is, 
either  that  they  do  not  consider  God’s  settled  and  uni¬ 
form  appointments  as  his  appointments  at  all,  or  else  they 
forget  that  vicarious  punishment  is  an  appointment  of 
every  day’s  experience.”  As  therefore  evils,  and  great 
evils,  and  such  as  we  could  not  of  ourselves  avoid,  are 
so  often  averted  from  us,  in  the  providence  of  God,  by 
the  interposition  of  our  fellow-creatures,  so  it  is  in 
perfect  harmony  with  that  providence  to  suppose  that 
greater  evils,  otherwise  unavoidable,  might  be  averted 
by  the  interposition  of  the  Son  of  God. 

In  these,  and  other  particulars  which  might  be  men¬ 
tioned,  we  find  an  analogy  between  Christianity  and 
nature,  such  as  to  show  that  they  came  from  the  same 
hand. .  Here  is  a  test  —  its  general  correspondence  and 
harmony  with  the  works  of  God  and  with  the  natural 
and  providential  government  of  God  —  which  no  false 
system  can  stand.  And  more  especially  remarkable  is  it 
that  Christianity  can  sustain  this  test,  when  we  consider 
it  in  contrast  with  that  to  which  it  was  subjected  at  its 


94 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


first  appearance  in  the  world.  With  the  presentation 
of  this  contrast  1  shall  close  this  lecture. 

The  early  and  later  test  contrasted — Christianity 
and  Judaism.  —  Christianity,  at  its  commencement, 
recognized  the  Jewish  religion  as  from  God ;  and  it 
was  a  ground  of  its  rejection  by  the  Jews,  that  it 
destroyed  their  law  or  ritual.  Hence  it  became  neces¬ 
sary —  and  this  was  the  main  object  of  the  apostle  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  —  to  show  that  it  was  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  J ewish  religion  when  rightly 
understood,  and  was,  indeed,  necessary  to  its  comple¬ 
tion.  Did  the  Jews  insist  that  Christianity  had  no 
priesthood  ?  The  apostle  affirms  that  it  had  such  a  high 
priest  as  became  us,  "who  is  holy,  harmless,  undefiled, 
separate  from  sinners,  and  made  higher  than  the 
heavens.”  Did  the  Jews  affirm  that  Christianity  had 
no  tabernacle  ?  The  apostle  asserts  that  Christ  was  the 
minister  "of  the  true  tabernacle,  which  the  Lord  pitched, 
and  not  man ;  ”  that  he  had  "  not  entered  into  the  holy 
places  made  with  hands,  which  are  the  figures  of  the 
true,  but  into  heaven  itself.”  Was  it  objected  that 
Christianity  had  no  altar  and  no  sacrifice  ?  The  apostle 
affirms  that  "  now,  once  in  the  end  of  the  world,  Christ 
had  appeared  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  him¬ 
self.”  Thus  did  the  apostle  show  that  the  Jewish 
religion,  having  dropped  its  swaddling-clothes  of  rites 
and  ceremonies,  was  identical  in  spirit  with  Christianity. 
The  same  correspondence  was  either  attempted  to  be 
shown,  or  taken  for  granted,  by  all  the  New  Testament 
writers.  But  when  we  remember  that  Christianity  is  a 
purely  spiritual  religion,  encumbered  by  no  forms,  and 
that  the  Jewish  was  apparently  the  most  technical  and 
artificial  of  all  systems  ;  when  we  remember  that  there 
was  not  only  to  be  preserved  a  correspondence  with  the 
types  and  ceremonies,  but  also  that  there  was  to  be  the 
fulfillment  of  many  prophecies,  we  may  see  the  impos- 


THE  TESTS  SUSTAINED. 


95 


sibility  that  any  human  art  should  construct  a  system 
so  identical  in  its  principles,  and  yet  so  diverse  in  its 
manifestations.  Nor,  indeed,  could  there  have  been 
any  motive  to  induce  such  an  attempt ;  for,  besides  its 
inherent  difficulty,  Christianity  so  far  dropped  all  the 
peculiarities  of  the  Jews  as  to  forfeit  every  hope  of 
benefit  from  their  strong  exclusive  feelings,  while  at 
the  same  time  it  came  before  other  nations  subject  to 
all  the  odium  which  it  could  not  fail  to  excite  as  based 
on  the  Jewish  religion.  We  accordingly  find  that,  in 
point  of  fact,  it  was  equally  opposed  by  Jews  and 
Gentiles.  But  such  was  the  system  —  exclusive,  typi¬ 
cal,  ceremonial,  external,  magnificent,  addressed  to  the 
senses  —  between  which  and  Christianity,  simple,  uni¬ 
versal,  without  form  or  pomp,  it  was  necessary  to  show 
a  correspondence  ;  and  this  the  apostle  Paul,  and  the 
New  Testament  writers  generally,  did  show. 

Christianity  and  nature  —  extent  and  grandeur. — 
How  different  the  test  to  which  Christianity  is  now  put  1 
The  works  of  God  are  acknowledged  to  be  from  him, 
and,  as  now  understood,  how  simple  in  their  laws,  how 
complex  in  their  relations,  how  infinite  in  their  extent ! 
And  can  the  same  system,  which  so  perfectly  corre¬ 
sponded  with  the  narrow  system  of  the  Jews,  correspond 
equally  with  the  infinite  and  unrestricted  system  and 
relations  of  God’s  works  ?  Is  it  possible  that  the  reli¬ 
gion  once  embosomed  in  the  ceremonies  of  an  ignorant 
and  barbarous  people,  which  received  its  expansion  and 
completion  in  an  age  of  the  greatest  ignorance  in  regard 
to  physical  science,  should  yet  harmonize,  in  its  disclo¬ 
sures  respecting  God  and  his  government,  with  those 
enlarged  conceptions  of  his  nature  and  kingdom  which 
we  now  possess  ?  Could  Newton  step  from  the  study 
of  the  heavens  to  the  study  of  the  Bible,  and  feel  that 
he  made  no  descent?  It  is  even  so.  The  God  whom 
the  Bible  discloses,  and  the  moral  system  which  it 


36 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


reveals,  lose  nothing  when  compared  with  the  extent 
of  nature,  or  with  the  simplicity  and  majesty  of  her 
laws  ;  they  seem  rather  worthy  to  be  enthroned  upon, 
and  to  preside  over,  such  an  amazing  domain.  The 
material  universe,  if  not  infinite,  is  indefinite  in  extent. 
We  see  in  the  misty  spot  which,  in  a  serene  evening, 
scarce  discolors  the  deep  blue  of  the  sky,  a  distant 
milky  way,  like  that  which  encircles  our  heavens,  and 
in  a  small  projection  of  which  our  sun  is  situated.  We 
see  such  milky  ways  strown  in  profusion  over  the 
heavens,  each  containing  more  suns  than  we  can  num¬ 
ber,  and  all  these,  with  their  subordinate  systems,  we 
see  bound  together  by  a  law  as  efficient  as  it  is  simple 
and  unchangeable.  "  They  stand  up  together  .  .  .  not  one 
faileth  !  ”  But  long  before  this  system  was  discovered, 
there  was  made  known,  in  the  Bible,  a  moral  system  in 
entire  correspondence  with  it.  We  see  at  the  head  of 
it,  and  presiding  in  high  authority  over  the  whole,  one 
infinite  and  "  only  wise  God,”  "  the  King  eternal,  im¬ 
mortal,  invisible.”  Of  the  systems  above  us,  angelic 
and  seraphic,  we  know  little ;  but  we  see  one  law, 
simple,  efficient,  and  comprehensive  as  that  of  gravita¬ 
tion, —  the  law  of  love,  —  extending  its  sway  over  the 
whole  of  God’s  dominions,  living  where  he  lives,  em¬ 
bracing  every  moral  movement  in  its  universal  author¬ 
ity,  and  producing  the  same  harmony,  where  it  is 
obeyed,  as  we  observe  in  the  movements  of  nature. 
We  find  here  none  of  the  puerilities  which  dwarf  every 
other  system.  The  sanctions  of  the  law,  the  moral 
attributes  revealed,  the  destinies  involved,  the  prospects 
opened  up,  —  all  take  hold  on  infinity,  and  are  in 
perfect  keeping  with  the  solemn  emotions  excited  by 
dwelling  upon  the  illimitable  works  of  God.  "Deep 
calleth  unto  deep.” 


LECTURE  IV. 

ARGUMENT  SECOND:  COINCIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY  WITH  NAT 
URAL  RELIGION.  — ARGUMENT  THIRD:  ITS  ADAPTATION  TO 
THE  CONSCIENCE  AS  A  PERCEIVING  POWER.  — PECULIAR  DIF¬ 
FICULTIES  IN  THE  WAY  OF  ESTABLISHING  AND  MAINTAINING 
A  PERFECT  STANDARD. —ARGUMENT  FOURTH:  IF  THE  MO¬ 
RALITY  IS  PERFECT,  THE  RELIGION  MUST  BE  TRUE. 

If,  as  was  attempted  in  the  last  lecture,  a  distinct 
analogy  can  be  shown  between  Christianity  and  the 
constitution  of  nature,  it  will  afford  a  strong  presump¬ 
tion  that  they  both  came  from  the  same  hand.  But  if 
such  an  analogy  can  not  be  shown,  it  will  not  be  con¬ 
clusive  against  Christianity,  because  there  is  such  a 
disparity  between  the  material  and  the  spiritual  worlds, 
and  the  laws  by  which  they  must  be  governed,  that  a 
revelation  concerning  one  might  be  possible,  which  yet 
should  not  seem  to  be  analogous  to  the  other. 

ARGUMENT  II. 

COINCIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY  WITH  NATURAL  RELIGION. 

Not  so,  however,  with  the  argument  which  I  next 
adduce,  which  is  drawn  from  the  coincidence  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  with  natural  religion.  Truth  is  one.  If  God 
has  made  a  revelation  in  one  mode,  it  must  coincide 
with  what  he  has  revealed  in  another.  If,  therefore, 
it  can  be  shown  that  Christianity  does  not  coincide  with 
the  well-authenticated  teachings  of  natural  religion,  it 

(97) 


98 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


will  be  conclusive  against  it.  Nature  is  from  God. 
Her  teachings  are  from  him,  and  I  should  regard  it  as 
settling  the  question  against  any  thing  claiming  to  be  a 
divine  revelation,  if  it  could  be  shown  to  contradict 
those  teachings.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  can  be  shown 
that  Christianity  coincides  perfectly  with  natural  reli¬ 
gion,  and  indeed  teaches  the  only  perfect  system  of  it 
ever  known,  it  will  furnish  a  strong  argument  in  its 
favor,  especially  when  we  consider  how  the  religion 
originated. 

Natural  religion  defined .  —  By  natural  religion,  I 
mean  that  knowledge  of  God  and  of  duty  which  may 
be  acquired  by  man  without  a  revelation.  So  far  as 
this  phrase  is  made  to  imply,  as  it  sometimes  is,  that 
revealed  religion  is  not  natural,  it  is  objectionable  ;  for 
I  conceive  that  the  original  and  natural  state  of  man 
was  one  of  direct  communication  with  God,  and  even 
now,  that  revelation  is,  in  the  highest  sense,  natural. 
It  ought  to  be  used  simply  to  contradistinguish  the 
knowledge,  which  man  might  gain  from  nature,  from 
that  which  revelation  alone  teaches.  Of  natural  reli¬ 
gion  the  ideas  of  many  are  exceedingly  indefinite  ;  but 
that  the  definition  now  fifiven  is  the  true  one  is  obvious, 
because  it  is  the  only  one  that  can  give  it  any  fixed  and 
definite  meaning.  It  can  not  mean  what  men  have 
actually  learned  from  nature,  for  this  has  varied  at 
different  times.  We  should  be  doing  injustice  to  the 
teachings  of  nature  if  we  were  to  call  that  knowledge 
of  God  and  of  duty,  which  has  been  attained  by  the 
most  enlightened  heathen,  the  whole  of  natural  religion. 
We  mean,  by  revealed  religion,  not  the  partial  and 
perverted  views  of  any  sect,  but  that  system  which  God 
has  actually  revealed  in  the  Bible,  and  which  the  dili¬ 
gent  and  candid  can  discover  to  be  there.  And  so  we 
mean,  by  natural  religion,  not  what  indolent,  and  biased, 
and  selfish  men  have  discovered,  but  that  which  nature 


TEACHINGS  OF  NATURAL  RELIGION. 


99 


actually  teaches,  and  which  a  diligent  and  candid  man 
could  discover  in  the  best  exercise  of  his  powers. 

Teachings  —  how  made  known.  — If  this,  then,  be 
natural  religion,  how  are  its  teachings  made  known? 
Its  mode  of  teaching  concerning  God,  and  concerning 
duty,  is  not  the  same.  Its  teachings  concerning  God 
and  his  attributes  are  made  known  chiefly  by  reasoning 
from  effects  to  their  cause.  In  addition  to  this,  it  is 
supposed  by  some  that  all  men  have  certain  intuitive 
and  necessary  convictions  concerning  the  being  of  a 
God.  But,  however  this  may  be,  I  think  that  the  being 
of  a  God,  and  the  perfection  of  most  of  his  natural  attri¬ 
butes,  might  be  inferred  from  nature  as  now  known. 
That  nature  and  Christianity  agree  in  their  teachings 
concerning  these  attributes,  I  have  already  shown ; 
concerning  the  moral  attributes  of  God,  it  is  more  diffi¬ 
cult  to  say  what  nature  does  teach.  Certain  it  is  that 
man  has  never  so  learned  them,  from  her  light  alone, 
as  to  lay  the  foundation  for  any  rational  system  of  reli¬ 
gious  morality ;  or  so  as  to  free  the  best  minds  from 
great  and  distressing  uncertainty. 

Her  mode  of  teaching  duty  is  by  the  tendencies  and 
results  of  different  actions,  and  courses  of  action.  We 
can  not  doubt  —  at  least  natural  religion  does  not  per¬ 
mit  itself  to  doubt  —  that  the  object  of  God,  in  the 
constitution  of  things,  and  in  the  relations  established 
by  him,  is  the  good  of  man.  If,  therefore,  we  see  any 
course  of  conduct  tending  to,  and  resulting  in,  the 
good  of  man,  individually  and  socially,  we  infer  that  it 
is  according  to  the  will  of  God.  If  we  see  a  course  of 
conduct  tending  to,  and  resulting  in,  the  unhappiness 
of  the  individual  and  of  society,  we  infer  that  it  is 
contrary  to  his  will.  It  is  in  this  way,  solely,  by  the 
tendencies  and  results  of  actions,  that  natural  religion 
teaches  us  our  duty. 

Not  adapted  to  the  common  mind.  —  But  it  must  be 


100 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


conceded  that  this  mode  of  teaching,  by  relations,  and 
tendencies,  and  results,  is  not  well  adapted  to  the  com¬ 
mon  mind.  Even  to  comprehend  these  relations  and 
tendencies  fully,  much  more  to  trace  them  out  origin- 
ally,  requires  a  philosophic  mind  of  the  highest  order. 
In  some  cases,  indeed,  the  tendency  of  actions,  or 
courses  of  action,  is  obvious,  and  the  will  of  God, 
when  we  believe  in  his  being  and  perfections,  is  thus 
as  clearly  indicated  as  it  would  be  by  a  voice  from 
heaven ;  but  in  others,  nothing  can  be  more  complex 
or  difficult  of  determination  even  after  an  experience 
somewhat  extended.  After  all  their  experience,  men 
are  still  divided  on  the  tendencies  and  results  of  a 
protective  tariff,  which  we  should  think  it  would  be 
perfectly  easy  to  test  to  the  satisfaction  of  all ;  but  so 
varied  are  the  interests  involved,  and  so  complex  are 
the  causes  at  work,  that  men  seem  now  no  nearer  an 
agreement  respecting  them  than  ever.  And  if  this  is 
so  on  a  subject  to  which  attention  is  stimulated  by 
immediate  interest,  and  which  appeals  to  interest  alone, 
how  much  more  must  it  be  so  with  those  courses  of 
action  in  which  moral  tendencies  and  results,  so  obscure 
and  tardy,  are  to  be  considered,  and  in  which  the  strong 
natural  feelings  of  the  heart  are  at  work  to  bias  the 
judgment?  Accordingly,  though  the  teachings  of 
nature  have  been  open  to  all,  and  have  influenced  all 
to  some  extent,  yet  it  has  been  only  among  the  enlight¬ 
ened  few,  and  at  favored  periods,  that  a  system  of 
natural  religion  could  be  said  to  exist  at  all,  or  that  its 
teachings  have  exerted  any  considerable  influence.  Nor, 
when  we  consider  how  complex  are  the  tendencies  of 
actions,  and  how  remote  are  often  their  completed 
results, — how  plausible  are  some  courses  of  action, 
which  yet  experience  shows  to  be  injurious,  —  when 
we  consider  the  eagerness  of  passion,  the  blinding 
power  of  selfishness,  how  opposed  some  of  the  virtues 


NATURAL  RELIGION  INSUFFICIENT. 


101 


are  to  the  strongest  feelings  of  men,  and  how  evil  prac¬ 
tices,  when  once  adopted,  perpetuate  themselves  and 
become  fixed  by  custom  and  association  in  the  commu¬ 
nity,  can  we  wonder  that  nothing  like  a  perfect  system 
of  natural  religion  was  ever  discovered  by  man. 

Teaching  by  inference,  too,  without  any  immediate 
sanction  to  the  laws  she  could  establish,  and  without 
any  certain  knowledge  of  a  future  retribution,  there 
was  very  little  in  the  voice  of  natural  religion  to  arrest 
the  attention  of  man.  Accordingly,  we  find  that  her 
teachings  were  overlooked  and  disregarded  by  the  great 
mass  of  men.  They  have  been  entirely  drowned  and 
superseded  by  systems  of  idolatry,  and  superstition, 
and  fanaticism.  Far,  very  far,  therefore,  have  even  the 
wisest  heathen  been  from  listening  to  all  the  voices 
uttered  by  nature,  from  reading  all  the  lessons  of  wis¬ 
dom  and  virtue  inscribed  on  her  pages. 

It  is,  indeed,  often  difficult  to  know  precisely  how 
much  we  ought  to  attribute  to  natural  religion.  It 
seems  certain  that  there  was  a  primitive  revelation 
communicating  the  idea  of  sacrifices,  and  modifying  the 
religious  and  moral  views  of  after  times ;  rays  of  light 
from  the  Jewish  and  Christian  revelations  may  have 
been  more  widely  dispersed  than  we  suppose,  and  many 
things,  when  once  made  known,  so  commend  themselves 
to  reason  as  to  cause  it  to  be  felt  that  they  might  have 
been  discovered.  Hence  deists  have  claimed  several 
principles  as  discovered  by  reason,  as  the  pardon  of 
sin  on  repentance,  which  are  unquestionably  due  to 
revelation  alone.  But  whatever  natural  religion  might 
teach,  ,  we  do  know  that  it  can  not  teach  facts,  but 
only  laws  and  tendencies.  However  complete,  there¬ 
fore,  we  may  suppose  it,  it  never  could  have  taught 
those  great  facts  which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  a  system 
of  mere}" ;  but  precisely  how  much  of  duty  it  might 
have  taught,  we  can  not  say.  We  know,  also,  that  the 

Gr 


102 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


whole  of  the  system  never  was  reasoned  out,  nor  is 
there  the  least  reason  to  suppose  it  ever  would  have 
been. 

The  thing  to  he  done.  — Now,  if  a  system  purporting 
to  come  from  heaven,  comprises  incidentally  and  natu¬ 
rally  a  perfect  system  of  natural  religion,  gathering  up 
all  the  obscure  voices  that  nature  utters,  tracing  out  the 
indistinct  lines  which  she  has  written ;  if  its  precepts 
are  often  in  opposition  to  the  common  judgment  and  to 
the  strong  feelings  of  men,  and  yet,  wffien  tested  by 
tendencies  and  results,  are  universally  found  to  be 
sustained  by  these  sanctions  of  natural  religion ;  if  it 
originated  among  a  people  who  had  manifested  no  ten¬ 
dency  to  philosophical  studies,  and  from  men  without 
education,  then  we  may  well  inquire,  "  Whence  had 
these  men  this  wisdom  ?  ”  The  more  we  consider  the 
extreme  difficulty  of  tracing  out  these  tendencies,  the 
minute  and  comprehensive  knowledge  both  of  man  and 
of  nature  which  it  must  require  to  do  it  perfectly, 
together  with  the  blinding  influence  of  selfishness  and 
passion  in  such  inquiries,  the  more  highly  shall  we  esti¬ 
mate  the  marvelous  sagacity  that  could  gather  up  and 
imbody  every  utterance  and  law  of  nature  as  declared 
by  results. 

Christianity  has  done  it. — But  this  Christianity  has 
actually  done.  Here  we  feel  that  we  stand  on  firm 
ground.  At  this  point,  we  challenge  the  scrutiny  of 
the  infidel.  We  defy  him  to  point  out  a  single  duty 
even  whispered  by  nature,  which  is  not  also  inculcated 
in  the  New  Testament ;  we  defy  him  to  point  out  a 
single  precept  of  Christianity,  a  single  course  of  action 
inculcated  by  it,  which  does  not,  in  proportion  as  it  is 
followed,  receive  the  sanction  of  natural  religion  as 
declared  by  beneficial  consequences.  In  fact,  moral 
philosophy,  and  political  economy,  and  the  science  of 
politics,  the  sciences  which  teach  men  the  rules  of 


EXPERIENCE  ECHOES  CHRISTIANITY. 


103 


well-being,  whether  as  individuals  or  as  communities, 
are,  so  far  as  they  are  sound,  but  experience  and  the 
structure  of  organized  nature  echoing  back  the  teach¬ 
ings  of  Christianity.  What  principle  of  Christian  ethics 
does  moral  philosophy  now  presume  to  call  in  question  ? 
What  are  the  general  principles  of  political  economy, 
but  an  imperfect  application,  to  the  intercourse  of 
trading  communities,  of  those  rules  of  good  neighbor¬ 
hood,  and  of  that  spirit  of  kindness,  which  Christianity 
inculcates  ?  What  is  the  larger  part  of  political  science 
but  a  laborious  and  imperfect  mode  of  realizing  those 
results  in  society  which  would  flow  spontaneously  from 
the  universal  prevalence  of  Christian  morals  and  of  a 
Christian  spirit?  Does  Christianity  command  us  to  be 
temperate  ?  Science,  some  eighteen  hundred  years  after¬ 
wards,  discovers  that  temperance  alone  is  in  accordance 
with  what  it  calls  the  natural  laws ;  and  political  econ¬ 
omy  reckons  up  the  loss  of  labor  and  of  wealth  resulting 
from  intemperance  ;  and  then,  after  an  untold  amount 
of  suffering,  what  do  they  do  but  echo  back  the  injunc¬ 
tion,  "  Add  to  knowledge  temperance.”  Does  the  Bible 
command  men  to  do  no  work  on  the  seventh  day,  and  to 
let  their  cattle  rest  ?  It  is  now  beginning  to  lie  discov- 
ered  that  this  is  in  accordance  with  an  organic  law,  and 


that,  thus  doing,  both  men  and  animals  will  lie  more 
healthy,  and  will  do  more  work.  And  so,  in  regard  to 
every  course  that  would  lead  men  to  unhappiness, 
Christianity  has  stood  from  the  first  at  the  entrance  of 
the  paths,  and  uttered  its  warning  cry.  The  nations 
have  not  heard  it,  but  have  rushed  by,  and  rushed  on, 
till  they  have  reaped  the  fruit  of  their  own  devices  in 
the  corruption  of  morals,  in  the  confusion  of  society 
through  oppression  and  misrule  ;  and  then  philosophy 
has  condescended  to  discover  these  evils,  and,  if  it  has 
done  any  thing  for  the  permanent  relief  of  society,  it 
has  brought  it  back  to  the  letter  or  spirit  of  the  gospel. 


104 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


The  stem  teachings  of  experience  are  making  it  mani¬ 
fest, —  and  they  will  continue  to  do  it  more  and  more, 
—  that  the  Bible  is  God’s  statute-book  for  the  regulation 
of  his  moral  creatures,  and  that  the  laws  of  the  Bible 
can  no  more  be  violated  with  impunity  than  the  natural 
laws  of  God. 

The  system  completed.  —  If  Christianity  had  con¬ 
tained  all  the  teachings  of  natural  religion  known  at 
that  day,  had  gathered  up  all  that  the  great  and  wise 
men  of  all  previous  time  had  reasoned  out,  and  had 
made  some  additions  of  its  own,  it  would  have  been 
most  extraordinary,  and  would  have  required  for  its 
production  the  greatest  philosopher  of  the  age.  But 
while  it  adopted  many  things  that  were  then  taught, 
and  rejected  nothing  that  was  good,  it  completed  the 
system  for  all  ages,  leaving  nothing  for  philosophy  to 
do  but  to  apply  and  verify  its  principles.  And  in  doing 
this,  it  promulgated  many  things  that  were  entirely 
contrary  to  all  the  tastes  and  all  the  teachings  both  of 
the  Jews  and  of  the  Gentiles.  Several  of  the  funda¬ 
mental  principles  of  Christian  morality — such  as,  if 
adopted,  would  change  the  face  of  society  —  were  ori¬ 
ginal  with  Christ,  at  least  in  their  practical  enforcement, 
and  were  so  opposed  to  every  thing  taught  among  the 
Jews,  that  it  was  with  great  difficulty  and  slowness  that 
the  disciples  themselves  were  made  to  understand  them, 
or  to  conceive  the  possibility  of  their  adoption.  Such, 
for  example,  were  its  condemnation  of  war,  and  private 
retaliation,  and  of  polygamy,  and  of  divorce  except  for 
a  single  cause  ;  such  its  inculcation  of  purity  of  heart, 
of  meekness  and  humility,  of  the  love  of  enemies,  and 
of  universal  benevolence.  Such  was  its  estimation  of 
the  poor  as  standing  on  the  same  level  of  immortality 
with  the  rich ;  such  its  principle  of  self-denial  for  the 
good  of  others,  its  supreme  regard  to  the  will  of  God, 
and  its  regard  for  the  interests  of  the  soul  rather  than 


A  NEW  AND  PERFECT  SYSTEM. 


105 


those  of  the  body0  So  that  Christ  did  not  merely 
make  some  improvements,  such  as  a  great  genius  might 
be  supposed  to  do  ;  nor  did  he,  as  Linnaeus  in  botany, 
discover  a  new  method  or  system,  which  gave  him  a 
clew  to  vast  stores  of  new  knowledge  ;  but,  standing 
precisely  where  other  men  had  stood,  with  no  education, 
with  no  knowledge  of  Greek  or  Roman  literature  in  the 
ordinary  way,  he  adopted  all  that  was  good  in  the  prev¬ 
alent  systems,  but  still  introduced  so  much  that  was 
new,  that  the  system,  as  a  whole,  was  not  only  perfect, 
but  was  a  new  and  an  original  system.  The  adoption 
of  it  was  opposed  by  every  selfish  principle,  and  seemed 
to  require,  and  often  did  require,  the  renunciation  of 
life  itself.  But  the  system  was  original  in  its  motives 
as  well  as  in  its  principles .  Many  were  led  to  adopt  it, 
and  now  we  see  that  it  is  through  these  principles,  and 
these  alone,  that  individuals  and  society  can  be  made 
happy,  and  we  bow  with  humble  reverence  before  that 
wisdom  by  which  they  were  promulgated.  Let  these 
principles  be  adopted  and  carried  out,  and  we  have  an 
entirely  different  world  from  that  which  could  exist  on 
any  others  —  a  world  from  which  the  chief  causes  of 
unhappiness  are  removed. 

And  is  it  possible  that  any  human  sagacity  could  have 
adopted  so  much  that  was  new,  and  yet  have  excluded 
every  thing  that  was  injurious,  or  excessive,  or  unbal¬ 
anced?  "With  such  an  agent  as  man,”  says  Bishop 
Sumner,  "  and  in  a  condition  so  complicated  as  that  of 
human  society,  it  is  no  less  dangerous  than  difficult  to 
introduce  new  modes  of  conduct  and  new  principles  of 
action.  What  extensive  and  unforeseen  results  have 
sometimes  proceeded  from  a  single  statute,  like  that 
which  provides  for  the  support  of  the  poor  in  England  ; 
a  single  institution,  like  the  trial  by  jury ;  a  single 
admission,  like  that  of  the  supremacy  of  the  Roman 
pontiff;  a  single  principle,  as  Luther’s  appeal  to  the 


106 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Bible  !  ”*  And  yet,  here  is  a  new  system,  involving 
all  the  relations  of  human  society,  the  results  of  which 
are  invariably  confirmed  by  those  of  experience. 

The  only  possible  objection  to  the  morality  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  is,  that  it  is  too  perfect ;  that,  though  it  may  fit 
men  for  heaven,  it  will  subject  those  who  adopt  it  to 
injury  and  depredation  here.  But,  whatever  injury 
may  be  done  in  this  way  is  the  result,  not  of  Christi¬ 
anity,  but  of  a  system  of  wickedness  which  it  forbids ; 
and  surely  it  ought  not  to  be  made  responsible  for  the 
results  of  disobeying  its  precepts.  It  claims  to  be  a 
universal  system.  Let  it  be  universally  obeyed,  and 
the  objection  vanishes. 

ARGUMENT  III. 

CHRISTIANITY  TESTED  BY  THE  CONSCIENCE. 

But  there  is  another  test  to  which  the  morality  of 
Christianity  may  be  brought ;  it  may  be  tested,  not  only 
by  its  tendencies,  but  by  the  conscience  of  man.  The 
utility  of  an  action  is  one  thing,  its  rightness  is  another. 
The  understanding  judges  of  the  utility,  the  conscience 
of  the  rightness,  of  actions.  That  the  conscience  is 
not  an  infallible  test  in  all  cases,  must  be  conceded.  It 
is  liable  to  be  both  blunted  and  perverted.  Still,  with 
the  light  we  now  have,  it  is  not  difficult  to  determine, 
respecting  any  system,  whether  it  does  commend  itself 
to  the  conscience  of  the  race.  Let  it  stand  before  men 
from  age  to  age,  so  as  to  come  in  contact  with  the 
conscience,  —  and  the  more  intimately,  the  more  the 
conscience  is  developed,  —  and  if  it  is  found  to  teach 
that  system,  and  those  rules  of  conduct,  in  favor  of 
which  the  conscience  sfives  its  verdict  as  founded  in  the 

O 

eternal  rules  of  right,  then  either  it  must  have  come 
from  God,  or  it  must  be  precisely  such  a  system  as  God 
would  reveal,  —  for,  plainly,  he  would  reveal  no  other. 


*  Sumner’s  Evidences,  chap.  8. 


CONSCIENCE  SATISFIED. 


107 


Does,  then,  Christianity,  whether  we  consider  it  as  a 
system  of  doctrines  or  of  morals,  fully  meet  the  demands 
of  the  conscience  as  a  discriminating  power  ?  We  say, 
Yes.  We  say  that  there  is  not  a  single  principle  of 
moral  government,  not  a  single  course  of  action,  not  a 
temper  of  mind,  approved  by  it,  which  an  enlight¬ 
ened  conscience  does  not  also  approve  as  right,  and 
suitable  to  the  relations  in  which  man  is  placed.  This, 
so  far  as  the  morality  of  Christianity  is  concerned,  I 
may  safely  say,  because  it  is  conceded  by  infidels. 
There  is  no  candid  and  well-informed  man  who  does 
not  now  concede  that  the  morality  of  Christianity, 
whether  tested  by  tendencies  or  by  conscience,  is  per¬ 
fect  ;  that,  if  it  were  fully  carried  out,  it  would  promote 
happiness  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  and  that  it  is  the 
only  system  that  can  do  so  to  the  same  extent. 

Task  difficult. — But,  in  meeting  this  test,  Chris¬ 
tianity  has  had  a  task  to  perform,  the  difficulty  of  which 
is  seldom  appreciated.  It  was  necessary  that  it  should 
do  four  things,  neither  of  which  has  ever  been  done  by 
any  other  system. 

Perfect  standard ,  and  perfect  application . — And, 
first,  it  was  necessary,  not  only  that  it  should  assume  a 
standard  absolutely  perfect,  — which,  however  far  from 
any  thing  that  man  has  ever  done,  would  be  compara¬ 
tively  easy,  — but  that  it  should  apply  a  perfect  law  to 
those  complex  and  infinitely  diversified  cases  which 
arise  when  law  is  violated.  A  perfect  moral  government 
of  perfect  beings  must  require  a  perfect  law.  If  Chris¬ 
tianity  is  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  conscience  that 
has  once  recognized  such  a  law,  it  must  utter  no  precept 
opposed  to  it  —  nothing  opposed  to  the  highest  standard 
of  which  we  are  capable  of  conceiving.  So  long  as  a 
perfect  state  remained,  the  simple  law  of  perfection 
would  be  the  only  precept  required,  and  it  would  be 
comparatively  easy  to  obey  it.  The  substance  of  the 


108 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


perfect  law  of  God  is  the  love  of  God  and  of  out 
neighbor ;  and  where  this  law  is  perfectly  observed, 
nothing  can  occur  to  provoke  ill-will.  Hence  there  is 
in  heaven  no  precept  that,  when  they  are  smitten  on  the 
one  cheek,  they  shall  turn  the  other  also.  But  Chris¬ 
tianity  lays  down  a  multitude  of  precepts  intended  to 
regulate,  in  the  spirit  of  a  perfect  rule,  the  intercourse 
of  beings  inclined  to  inflict  upon  each  other  injury  and 
depredation.  Does  it,  then,  in  order  to  meet  the 
apparent  exigencies  of  the  case,  to  conciliate  to  itself 
human  prejudice  or  passion,  ever,  in  any  of  these  sub¬ 
ordinate  precepts,  depart  from  its  high  requisitions,  or 
abate  any  thing  from  the  integrity  of  its  original  and 
fundamental  principle?  We  know  the  opposition  it 
encountered,  and  that  the  true  ground  of  that  opposi¬ 
tion  was  the  high  standard  it  assumed.  If  it  had  been 
of  the  world,  the  world  would  have  loved  its  own. 
There  was,  then,  the  strongest  temptation,  if  not  to 
Christ  himself,  yet  to  those  who  succeeded  him,  to  dilute 
this  original  principle,  and  soften  down  their  require¬ 
ments,  lest  they  should  incur  the  charge  of  inculcating 
an  impracticable  morality.  Have  they  done  this?  In 
no  case  have  they  done  it.  There  are  no  Jesuitical 
exceptions  or  reservations.  Not  only  was  Christ  con¬ 
sistent  with  himself  in  his  minor  precepts,  but  the 
apostles  were  in  every  instance  true  to  their  trust,  and 
no  stronger  proof  could  be  given,  not  only  of  integrity, 
but  of  wisdom.  Nothing  but  the  most  perfect  integrity 
could  have  adhered  to  the  law  in  all  its  breadth,  and 
nothing  but  a  divine  wisdom  could  have  accommodated 
it  to  the  very  peculiar  circumstances  of  man  in  this 
world.  The  minor  precepts  of  Christianity  are  all 
consistent  with  its  fundamental  and  its  perfect  law. 

Treatment  of  the  injurious.  —  And  here  I  may  remark 
that  not  only  does  Christianity  sustain  the  authority  of 
a  perfect  law,  but,  in  the  line  of  conduct  it  lays  down 


NEW  DUTIES. 


109 


toward  the  injurious,  it  has  adopted  the  very  principle 
which,  according  to  the  laws  of  mental  operation  dis¬ 
covered  in  later  times,  must  tend  in  the  greatest  possible 
degree  to  diminish  injury.  It  is  a  well-ascertained  fact, 
that  the  most  powerful  mode  of  inculcating  and  exciting 
any  quality,  or  temper,  is  the  distinct  and  vivid  mani¬ 
festation  of  that  temper.  The  manifestation  of  anger 
toward  another  excites  anger  in  him  ;  and  the  manifes¬ 
tation  of  a  meek  and  forgiving  spirit  has  a  tendency 
to  disarm  hostility,  and  does  all  that  can  be  done  to 
prevent  ill-feeling.  If,  therefore,  a  man  were  to  inquire 
how,  according  to  principles  of  mental  philosophy  alone, 
he  could  do  most  to  banish  the  malignant  and  selfish 
passions  from  the  earth,  and  make  it  like  heaven,  he 
would  be  obliged  to  adopt  the  very  course  prescribed 
by  the  New  Testament. 

New  revelations  and  duties,  —  But,  secondly,  Chris¬ 
tianity,  as  I  have  already  shown,  agrees  with  nature, 
so  fir  as  that  goes,  in  its  teachings  concerning  the 
natural  attributes  of  God,  and  concerning  morality ; 
but  it  reveals  some  things  concerning  God  peculiar  to 
itself;  and  it  imposes  upon  man  some  new  duties. 
The  question,  then,  is,  whether  the  additional  revela¬ 
tions  concerning  God  are  in  keeping  with  those  of 
nature,  and  whether  they  satisfy  the  demands  of  the 
conscience  for  a  perfect  Being,  in  the  moral  attributes 
which  they  reveal ;  and,  also,  whether  the  duties  it 
imposes  are  agreeable  to  reason  and  conscience.  So 
far  as  Christianity  coincides  with  nature,  I  take  it  for 
granted  that  it  satisfies  the  demands  of  the  conscience. 
Does  it  do  this  equally  when  it  passes  on  beyond  nature 
to  those  independent  and  fuller  revelations  which  it 
makes  of  God  and  of  duty,  so  that  the  transition  from 
the  one  to  the  other  is  only  as  that  from  the  dim 
twilight  to  the  full  blaze  of  day?  We  know  something 
of  God  from  nature,  just  as  we  know  something  of  the 


110 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


heavens  from  the  naked  eye.  Are,  then,  the  revela¬ 
tions  of  Christianity  respecting  him  in  keeping  with 
those  of  nature,  only  more  imposing  and  magnificent, 
just  as  the  revelations  of  the  telescope  concerning  the 
heavens  are  in  keeping  with  those  of  the  naked  eye, 
while  they  so  far  transcend  them  ? 

We  are  so  accustomed  to  contemplate  God  as  invested 
with  all  those  paternal  and  perfect  moral  attributes  with 
which  Christianity  clothes  him, — to  see  him  in  that 
amazing  attitude  of  holy  sovereignty  and  paternal  good¬ 
ness  in  which  it  represents  him, — that  this  perfect 
combination  of  moral  attributes,  this  completeness  of 
moral  character,  in  the  Sovereign  of  the  universe,  such 
that  we  should  as  soon  think  of  adding  to  infinite  space 
as  of  adding  any  thing  to  its  perfection,  seems  as  a 
matter  of  course,  and  we  do  not  remember  how  difficult 
it  must  have  been  to  carry  out  the  fragmentary  revela¬ 
tion  of  nature  to  its  absolute  completeness,  and  to 
combine  with  those  tremendous  natural  attributes,  shad¬ 
owed  forth  in  the  agencies  of  nature,  the  benignity 
and  mercy,  the  justice  and  compassion,  that  form  the 
character  of  our  Father  in  heaven.  We  forget  that 
Nature  has  her  terrific  and  fearful  aspects,  her  barren 
wastes,  her  regions  of  wild  disorder,  her  lightning  and 
thunder,  her  tornadoes  and  earthquakes,  and  her  breath 
of  pestilence,  as  well  as  her  glad  voices,  and  her  quiet 
sunshine  that  rests  like  a  smile  on  the  face  of  creation, 
and  her  waving  harvests,  —  and  that  it  is  by  her  terrific 
aspects  that  men  are  most  impressed,  and  that  hence 
they  have  been  led  to  form  gloomy  ideas  of  God,  and 
not  unfrequently  to  impersonate  the  principle  of  evil 
into  a  sovereign  divinity  whose  wrath  they  were  chiefly 
desirous  of  propitiating.  We  forget  the  distressing 
perplexity  in  which  the  greatest  and  best  men  of 
antiquity  were  respecting  the  moral  attributes  of  God, 
and  the  important  fact  that  they  never  .so  conceived  of 


THE  GOD  OF  THE  BIBLE  PERFECT. 


Ill 


him  as  to  make  the  love  of  God  a  duty .  All  this,  I  say, 
we  seem  to  forget,  and  to  think  it  was  a  matter  of 
course  that  Christianity  should  thus  carry  out,  into  all 
conceivable  perfection,  the  dim  revelations  of  nature 
concerning  God.  This  indeed  it  does  with  such  ease, 
so  incidentally,  so  little  with  the  pride  or  in  the  forms 
of  philosophic  disquisition,  that  we  scarcely  give  it 
credit  for  what  it  does,  though  all  this  but  renders  it 
the  more  remarkable.  It  is  related  of  a  palace  built 
by  genii,  that  all  the  treasures  of  a  great  monarch  were 
inadequate  to  complete  one  of  the  windows  purposely 
left  unfinished.  And  when  I  see  how  fragmentary  the 
structure  of  religious  knowledge  was  left  by  nature ,  — 
when  I  see  how  inadequate  all  the  labors  of  man  had 
proved  for  its  completion, —  and  when  I  look  at  the 
glorious  and  completed  dome  reared  by  Christianity,  I 
can  not  but  feel  that  other  than  human  hands  have  been 
employed  in  the  structure.  The  first  and  fundamental 
condition  of  a  perfect  religion  —  of  one  which  can  do 
all  for  the  moral  powers  that  can  be  done  for  them  — 
is  a  perfect  character  in  the  object  of  worship.  The 
mind  is  naturally  assimilated  to  the  object  which  it 
contemplates  with  delight,  and  especially  which  it  wor¬ 
ships  ;  and  it  is  demonstrable,  on  principles  of  reason, 
that,  unless  the  character  of  the  God  of  Christianity  is 
absolutely  perfect,  then  that  character  not  only  will  not 
meet  the  demands  of  the  conscience,  but  can  never  do 
for  man,  in  the  elevation  and  perfection  of  his  character, 
all  that  could  be  done  for  him.  But,  the  more  we 
dwell  on  it,  the  more  we  shall  see  that  the  character  of 
the  God  of  the  Bible  is  absolutely  perfect,  and  there¬ 
fore,  either  the  God  of  Christianity  is  the  true  God,  or 
there  can  be  no  being  who  shall  be  God  to  us  —  none 
who  shall  meet  that  conception  of  absolute  perfection 
which  we  form  in  our  minds,  and  feel  that  we  must 
transfer  to  him. 


112 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


JVew  duties  not  arbitrary.  —  Of  the  new  duties 
demanded  by  Christianity,  it  may  be  said  that  they  are 
in  no  case  arbitrary  and  capricious,  but  are  exactly 
those  which  grow  out  of  the  new  relations  in  which  we 
are  placed  by  Christianity,  and  which  the  conscience 
can  not  but  approve  the  moment  these  relations  are 
perceived.  Thus,  if  God  has  shown  us  new  evidence 
of  love  through  Christianity,  then  are  we  under  new 
obligations  of  gratitude  to  him.  If  Christ  has  signally 
interposed  in  our  behalf,  then  we  are  under  obligations 
to  him  in  proportion  to  what  he  has  done  for  us.  If  we 
are  intrusted  by  Christianity  with  good  tidings  of  great 
joy,  then  we  are  under  obligation  to  publish  them  to 
all  people. 

Thus,  whether  we  consider  the  additional  revelation 
of  Christianity  respecting  God  or  duty,  we  find  that 
it  perfectly  meets  the  demands  of  an  enlightened 
conscience. 

Lenity  and  law. — But,  thirdly,  in  neither  of  the 
particulars  just  mentioned  do  we  find  the  most  difficult 
task  which  Christianity  had  to  perform,  if  it  would  meet 
the  demands  of  conscience.  Its  professed  object  was 
to  introduce  a  system  of  lenity.  And  was  it  possible 
it  should  do  this,  and  still  cause  that  perfect  law,  which, 
if  if  meet  the  demands  of  the  conscience,  it  must  sus¬ 
tain,  to  appear  as  strict  and  binding  as  if  no  such 
system  had  been  introduced?  This  it  must  do  if  it 
meets  the  demands  of  the  conscience ;  for,  when  once 
that  has  obtained  the  conception  of  absolute  moral 
perfection,  nothing  can  satisfy  it  which  would  weaken 
the  obligation  of  that.  Here  is  a  fundamental  difficulty. 
Whatever  Christianity  may  profess,  does  not  lenity,  in 
the  nature  of  the  case,  tend  to  weaken  the  sanctions  of 
law,  and  to  deduct  from  its  binding  force  ?  Is  it  pos¬ 
sible  to  conceive  of  a  lawgiver  who  remits  ihe  just 
penalty  of  crime,  and,  at  the  same  time,  manifests  the 


A  DIFFICULT  PROBLEM.  11 J 

same  abhorrence  of  it,  and  the  same  anxiety  to  guard 
against  its  commission,  as  he  would  have  done  if  he  had 
caused  the  penalty  to  be  executed?  All  good  men 
agree  in  the  essential  principle,  that  the  full  authority 
of  God’s  law  must  be  sustained.  But  how  can  this  be 
done  while  pardon  is  granted?  This  is  a  difficulty 
which  if  Christianity  has  not  removed,  it  is  not  because 
it  has  not  perceived  it,  and  made  the  attempt.  "  That 
he  might  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  which  believeth 
in  Jesus,”  is  declared  by  the  apostle  to  be  the  great 
object  of  all  that  had  been  done  by  God  in  introducing 
the  Christian  revelation.  This  is  the  very  centre  and 
soul  of  Christianity ;  and,  if  it  has  not  accomplished 
this,  then  has  it  failed  of  the  very  end  proposed  by 
itself.  This  is  a  question  which  is  not  stated  even,  in 
any  false  religion,  because  that  all-important  conception 
of  the  holiness  of  God,  out  of  which  it  grows,  has  not 
been  sufficiently  distinct  to  produce  it.  If  men  have 
offered  sacrifices,  and  submitted  to  torture,  it  has  been 
under  the  impression  that  God  might  be  moved  like  an 
earthly  monarch,  and  never  under  the  idea  of  him  as 
having  an  impartial  and  inflexible  adherence  to  rectitude, 
or  with  the  purpose  of  bringing  forgiveness  within  the 
range  of  any  great  principle.  But  this  question  a 
religion  that  would  deal  fairly  with  an  enlightened  mind 
must  meet.  This  problem  it  must  solve.  Standing 
where  I  do,  it  would  not  become  me  to  state  the  method 
in  which  I  suppose  Christianity  has  solved  this  problem. 
I  intend  to  enter  upon  no  disputed  doctrines.  I  take  it 
for  granted  that  all  Christians  suppose  the  mercy  of 
God  to  be  entirely  compatible  with  his  perfect  holiness. 
Let  individuals  adopt  what  views  they  choose  in  respect 
to  the  method  in  which  this  is  accomplished.  I  wish 
solely  to  draw  attention  to  the  difficulty  of  the  problem, 
to  the  fact  that  this  difficulty  was  fully  understood  by  the 
original  writers  on  Christianity,  and  that  they  profess 


114 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


to  have  solved  it.  If  they  have  done  this,  then  how 
divine  the  wisdom  which  could  so  perfectly  meet  the 
demands  of  the  most  enlightened  conscience  by  sustain¬ 
ing  law,  and  at  the  same  time  provide  for  the  wants  of 
the  guilty !  Problems  so  high,  human  systems  do  not 
attempt  to  solve  ;  wisdom  so  divine  as  must  be  involved 
in  the  solution  of  this,  they  do  not  manifest. 

Justice  and  the  disorders  of  the  world.  — There  is  one 
thing  more  which  it  behooved  Christianity  to  do,  if  it 
would  meet  the  demands  of  conscience  as  a  discrimi¬ 
nating  power.  It  was,  to  satisfy  our  natural  sense  of 
justice  with  reference  to  the  disorders  of  this  present 
world.  These  disorders,  in  the  height  to  which  they 
have  risen,  have  always  presented  a  great  moral  enigma 
to  those  who  have  reasoned  concerning  the  providence 
and  moral  government  of  God.  This  was  strongly  felt 
and  strongly  stated  as  long  ago  as  the  time  of  Job. 
"Some,”  says  he,  "remove  the  landmarks;  they  vio¬ 
lently  take  away  flocks,  and  feed  thereof.  They  drive 
away  the  ass  of  the  fatherless.  They  take  the  widow’s 
ox  for  a  pledge.  They  cause  the  naked  to  lodge  without 
clothing,  that  they  have  no  covering  in  the  cold.  They 
pluck  the  fatherless  from  the  breast,  and  take  a  pledge 
of  the  poor.  Men  groan  from  out  of  the  city,  and  the 
soul  of  the  Avounded  crieth  out :  yet  God  layeth  not 
follv  to  them.”  "Wherefore  do  the  wicked  live,  become 
old,  yea,  are  mighty  in  power?  Their  seed  is  estab¬ 
lished  in  their  sight  with  them,  and  their  offspring 
before  their  eyes.  They  spend  their  days  in  wealth, 
and  in  a  moment  go  down  to  the  grave.”  "The  earth,” 
says  he,  "is  given  into  the  hand  of  the  wicked;  he 
covereth  the  faces  of  the  judges  thereof;  if  not,” — as 
much  as  to  say,  this  must  be  allowed  whether  we  can 
reconcile  it  to  the  righteous  government  of  God  or 
not,  —  "if  not,  where  and  who  is  he?”  Thus  was  this 
wise  and  good  man  perplexed  before  the  light  of  Chris- 


SEEMING  MORAL  DISORDER.  RELIEF. 


115 


tianity.  The  Psalmist  found  no  relief  under  the  same 
difficulty  until  he  went  to  the  sanctuary  of  God,  and 
there  saw  the  end  of  the  wicked.  Solomon,  too,  says, 
"  Moreover  I  saw  under  the  sun  the  place  of  judgment, 
that  wickedness  was  there ;  and  the  place  of  righteous¬ 
ness,  that  iniquity  was  there.  I  said  in  mine  heart,” — * 
then  he  said,  when  he  saw  this,  as  furnishing  the  only 
solution  of  the  difficulty,  —  "  God  shall  judge  the  right¬ 
eous  and  the  wicked.”  Nor  does  the  picture  assume  a 
brighter  hue  as  we  come  down  the  ages.  History  is 
full  of  multiplied,  and  aggravated,  and  unredressed 
wrongs ,  inflicted  by  man  upon  man.  Look  at  the  slave- 
trade.  Look  at  slavery  as  it  exists  now.  Look  at  the 
peasantry  of  Europe.  Look  at  Poland.  Or,  if  we 
turn  from  the  contemplation  of  open  and  high-handed 
violence,  to  consider  the  triumphs  of  injustice ;  the 
success  of  fraud  ;  the  spoliations  and  heartless  atrocities 
which  are  effected  under  the  forms  of  law  ;  the  wrongs, 
and  cruelties,  and  petty  tyrannies,  that  are  exercised  in 
families,  and  imbitter  the  lives  of  thousands,  our  diffi¬ 
culties  will  not  be  diminished.  Surely,  to  a  thoughtful 
man,  without  revelation,  this  world  must  present  a  most 
perplexing  and  discouraging  spectacle.  He  must  see 
that  there  are  injuries  for  which  there  is  no  redress 
upon  earth,  questions  unsettled  for  which  there  is  no 
adjudication  here ;  and,  while  he  has  no  satisfactory 
evidence  that  a  time  of  adjudication  will  ever  come,  he 
must  feel  that  a  violence  is  done  to  his  moral  nature  if 
these  questions  are  to  be  cut  short  by  death,  and  left 
unsettled  forever.  To  this  state  of  perplexity,  so  natural 
and  so  universal,  Christianity  furnishes  complete  relief. 
It  gives  us  the  most  positive  assurance  that  these  ques¬ 
tions  shall  be  carried  up  to  an  impartial  tribunal.  It 
makes  known  to  us  the  Judge  and  the  rules  of  the 
proceedings  of  that  great  "  day  of  the  restitution  of  all 
things  ;  ”  —  yes,  "the  restitution  of  all  things.”  When 


116 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


it  is  known  that  this  is  to  be,  then  the  perplexed  and 
agonized  heart  is  set  at  rest.  Then,  and  not  till  then, 
there  is  felt  to  be  a  congruity  between  the  course  of 
events,  as  they  shall  ultimately  terminate,  and  our 
moral  frame  and  the  demands  of  the  conscience  are 
fully  met. 

Recapitulation.  —  What  I  would  say,  then,  is,  that 
Christianity  commends  itself  to  a  conscience  fully  en¬ 
lightened,  not  only  in  its  morality,  but  by  uniformly 
adhering  to  a  perfect  standard  of  rectitude,  and  under 
circumstances  which,  to  mere  human  wisdom,  would 
seem  to  be  incompatible  with  it.  Man  is  capable  of 
forming  the  idea  of  moral  perfection  ;  and,  having  once 
formed  it,  his  moral  nature  requires  that  a  religion 
claiming  to  come  from  God  should  neither  command 
nor  reveal  any  thing  incompatible  with  that  idea.  The 
necessity  of  meeting  this  requisition,  whether  man  is 
regarded  as  possessed  of  discriminating  powers  simply, 
or  as  a  being  to  be  elevated  and  assimilated  to  some¬ 
thing  higher  and  better  than  himself,  Christianity,  and 
that  alone,  has  fully  perceived;  and  it xvill  be  seen  that 
it  was  this  very  necessity  which  created  the  difficulty  in 
each  of  the  cases  that  I  have  stated.  In  the  first  case, 
it  was  necessary  that  precepts  should  be  laid  down 
which  should  be  compatible  both  with  a  perfect  law, 
and  with  the  state  of  things  in  this  world,  so  that  the 
conduct  required  should  be  neither  wrong  nor  imprac¬ 
ticable.  Who  but  Christ  and  his  followers  has  ever 
done  this?  Who  else  has  ever  attempted  it  without 
conceding  much  to  human  weakness  and  frailty?  In 
the  second  case,  the  difficulty  lay  in  carrying  out  the 
moral  character  of  God,  to  the  perfection  required  by 
the  conscience,  from  the  imperfect  and  often  seem¬ 
ingly  contradictory  revelations  of  nature.  In  the  third 
case,  it  consisted  in  reconciling  a  system  of  lenity  with 
the  claims  of  this  same  perfect  standard  ;  and,  in  the 


MORALITY  INCIDENTAL. 


117 


fourth  case,  in  revealing  a  method  by  which,  in  the 
administration  of  God,  the  disorders  of  this  world  are 
reconciled  with  the  present  existence  and  ultimate 
triumph  of  a  perfect  law.  In  each  of  these  cases,  there¬ 
fore,  the  principle  is  the  same.  That  there  must  be  a 
perfect  standard  established  and  maintained,  both  in  the 
character  and  law  of  God,  is  settled.  That  is  taken 
for  granted ;  and  the  difficulty  lay  in  reconciling  other 
things  with  that,  which  apparently  only  a  divine  wisdom 
could  have  reconciled. 

To  my  mind,  the  argument  from  these  cases  is  of 
great  weight.  But,  leaving  them  aside,  I  lay  my  finger 
upon  the  morality  of  Christianity,  whether  tested  by 
consequences  or  by  the  conscience,  and  1  claim  that  it 
is  perfect  —  "  that  the  virtues  inculcated  in  the  gospel 
are  the  only  virtues  which  we  can  imagine  a  heavenly 
teacher  to  inculcate.”  Is,  then,  this  claim  allowed?  It 
has  been  allowed  by  infidels,  and  I  feel  confident  it  must 
be  by  every  candid  man.  But  if  so,  who  does  not  see 
that  a  perfect  system  of  duty  must  come  from  God? 
Who  does  not  see  the  absurdity  of  supposing  that  it 
should  be  originated  in-  connection  with  a  system  of 
falsehood  and  imposture  ? 

Morality  not  the  primary  object.  — And  this  morality 
is  the  more  remarkable,  because  the  great  and  primary 
object  of  Christianity  is  not  to  regulate  the  relations; 
of  earthly  society,  or  to  provide  for  the  welfare  of  man 
in  this  life.  It  is  to  bring  "life  and  immortality  to 
light,”  and  to  prepare  men  for  that  immortality.  In  its 
spirit,  we  must  indeed  suppose  this  morality  to  belong 
to  the  heavenly  state  ;  but  in  many  of  the  forms  of  its 
manifestation,  it  is  but  the  earthly  garment  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  —  but  as  the  mantle  of  the  ascending  prophet* 
which  fell  from  him  when  he  was  translated.  Great,, 
then,  as  is  the  work,  and  the  blessing  of  a  perfect 
system  of  morality,  it  is  only  incidental  ;  it  is  only  as 

H 


118 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


a  branch  from  the  main  stem  of  that  species  of  the 
palm-tree  well  known  in  India,  which  still  passes  on 
upward,  and  produces  its  fruit  from  a  single  magnificent 
blossom  at  the  top.  This  morality  is  an  infinite  bless¬ 
ing  ;  it  is  the  fruit  of  Christianity;  but  it  is  borne,  as 
it  were,  only  by  its  lower  branches,  while  it  is  the  great 
doctrine  of  salvation,  of  "life  and  immortality  brought 
to  light,”  that  expands  at  its  top,  and  sheds  its  fra¬ 
grance  over  the  nations. 

Men,  then,  may  say  what  they  please  of  the  power  of 
the  human  mind  to  make  discoveries  in  moral  science  ; 
but  to  me  it  seems  that  to  suppose  a  system  like  this, 
thus  perfectly  coinciding  with  all  the  teachings  of  nat¬ 
ural  religion  and  with  the  requisitions  of  conscience,  to 
have  originated  with  peasants  and  fishermen  of  Galilee, 
requires  nothing  less  than  the  capacious  credulity  of  an 
infidel. 

ARGUMENT  IV. 

A  PERFECT  MORALITY  CAN  NOT  BE  FROM  A  FALSE  RELIGION. 

The  morality  of  Christianity,  as  tested  both  by  nat¬ 
ural  religion  and  by  the  conscience,  being  thus  perfect, 
the  question  arises  whether  it  is  inseparably  connected 
with  the  religion ;  and  if  so,  whether  it  is  possible  that 
a  perfect  morality  should  come  from  a  false  religion. 

> Separation  of  morality  and  religion.  — That  a  system 
of  morality  and  of  religion  should  coexist,  and  yet  not 
be  necessarily  connected,  is  very  conceivable.  The 
morality  may  be  correct,  as  was  much  of  that  taught 
by  Cicero,  in  his  book  De  Officiis,  and  yet  the  religion 
with  which  it  is  associated  may  be  entirely  false.  The 
precepts  may  have  no  connection  with  the  facts,  or 
doctrines,  or  rites  of  the  religion.  This  has  been  the 
case  with  all  false  religions.  There  has  been  no  ten- 
deucy  in  the  doctrines  or  facts  of  the  religion  to  form 
men  to  the  precepts  of  moral  virtue.  The  morality  has 
often  been  better  than  the  religion,  and  might  be  easily 


TRUE  MORALITY  FROM  GOD, 


119 


separated  from  it.  And  if  this  has  been  so  with  other 
religions,  why  may  it  not  be  so  with  Christianity? 

Concession  of  infidels.  — This  question  I  am  bound 
to  notice,  because  infidels  have  not  been  backward  in 
conceding  to  the  morality  of  Christianity  all  that  we 
ask.  They  speak  in  terms  of  high  eulogy  of  the  Ser¬ 
mon  on  the  Mount ;  they  eagerly  claim  whatever  they 
can  of  its  peculiar  doctrines  as  the  teachings  of  nature, 
and  seem  to  perceive  no  difficulty  even  in  admitting 
that  the  morality  is  perfect,  and  yet  rejecting  the  reli¬ 
gion. 

But  that  the  two  are  inseparable,  and  must  be  re¬ 
ceived  or  rejected  as  one  whole,  appears,  — 

True  morality  must  be  from  God. — First,  because 
we  can  not  otherwise  account  for  the  morality.  It 
seems  to  me,  as  I  have  already  attempted  to  show,  that 
man  could  not  have  originated  such  a  system  of  morals. 
When  I  stand  between  two  cliffs  rent  asunder  by  a  con¬ 
vulsion  of  nature,  I  do  not  need  to  be  told  that  that 
passage  was  not  opened  by  a  human  arm.  When  I  see 
the  bow  spanning  the  heavens,  I  do  not  need  to  be  told 
that  no  human  hand  has  bended  it.  So,  when  I  com¬ 
pare  such  a  system  with  the  intellectual  and  moral 
power,  not  merely  of  unlettered  fishermen,  but  of  man, 
and  especially  with  all  the  attempts  he  has  actually 
made,  I  feel  that  there  is  an  utter  disparity  between 
them.  I  feel  that  the  morality  must  have  come  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  religion  of  which  it  forms  a  part. 

An  attempt,  to  deceive  incredible.  —  But,  secondly,  it 
is  incredible  and  contradictory,  contrary  to  all  the 
known  laws  of  mind,  to  suppose  that  men  whose  moral 
discrimination  and  susceptibilities  were  so  acute  —  who 
could  originate  a  system  so  pure,  so  elevated,  so  utterly 
opposed  to  all  falsehood  —  should,  without  reason  or 
motive  that  we  can  see ,  deliberately  attempt  to  deceive 
mankind  concerning  their  highest  interests.  If  they 


120 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


had  a  system  of  morality  to  communicate,  why  did  they 
not,  like  honest  men,  communicate  it  as  an  abstract 
system,  unencumbered  with  doctrines  which  were,  and 
which  they  must  have  foreseen  would  be,  to  the  Jews  a 
stumbling-block  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness?  Why 
did  they  connect  with  it  a  narrative  of  facts  which,  if 
false,  might  have  been  easily  disproved?  How  much 
more  safe  and  dignified  to  have  delivered  the  system  in 
its  abstract  form,  after  the  manner  of  the  philosophers  ! 
The  combination  of  folly  and  wickedness,  which  such 
a  course  would  involve,  with  those  high  qualities, 
both  of  the  intellect  and  of  the  heart,  in  which  alone 
such  a  system  could  have  originated,  seems  to  me  im¬ 
possible. 

The  morality  grows  out  of  the  facts  and  doctrines.  — 
Once  more,  thirdly,  the  peculiar  morality  of  Christian¬ 
ity  can  not  be  separated  from  it,  because  it  so  grows 
out  of  its  facts  and  doctrines,  and  so  derives  its  power 
from  them.  It  does  not  lie  in  the  religion,  as  the  gem 
does  in  the  rock,  but  is  an  organized  part  of  one  vital 
whole.  It  is  as  the  hands  and  the  feet  to  the  heart  and 
the  brain.  And  surely  nothing  but  a  divine  wisdom 
could  cause  all  the  orreat  doctrines  and  facts  of  such 
a  religion  to  bear,  either  in  the  way  of  instruction  or 
motive,  upon  the  formation  of  a  right  moral  character. 
How  difficult — I  may  say  how  impossible  —  that  a 
writer  of  fiction  should  introduce  an  extraordinary  per¬ 
son,  like  Christ,  possessed  of  high  supernatural  powers, 
and  yet  not  attribute  to  him  one  wild  or  fanciful  adven¬ 
ture,  such  as  we  find  in  every  account  of  heathen  gods  ; 
not  one  capricious,  or  selfish,  or  unworthy  exertion  of 
his  miraculous  powers  ;  but  that  he  should  make  all  the 
exertions  of  those  powers,  and  all  the  events  of  his 
life,  such  that  they  bear  powerfully  as  motives  on  the 
practice  of  a  then  unheard-of  and  perfect  morality  ! 

New  motives.  —  As  I  have  already  said,  there  are 


NEW  RELATIONS  FROM  CHRISTIANITY. 


121 


many  new  duties  growing  out  of  the  new  relations  in 
which  we  are  placed  by  the  facts  of  Christianity ;  but 
not  to  these  only,  to  every  duty,  those  facts  furnish  new 
and  powerful  motives,  without  which  the  system,  as  a 
practical  whole,  has  no  power.  Certainly,  it  is  from 
the  character  of  God  as  revealed  by  Christianity,  and 
from  the  new  relations  assumed  by  him  toward  us,  that 
the  most  effective  motives  are  drawn  for  the  perform¬ 
ance  of  many  of  our  duties  toward  our  fellow-men. 
The  paternal  relation  of  God  to  man,  as  a  practical 
doctrine,  is  made  known  only  by  Christianity.  It  is 
true  —  what  was  said  by  Madame  De  Stael  —  that,  if 
Christ  had  simply  taught  men  to  say,  "Our  Father,” 
he  would  have  been  the  greatest  benefactor  of  the  race. 
If  the  heathen  had  some  notion  of  the  beneficence  of 
the  supreme  power,  from  the  operation  of  general  laws, 
yet  there  was  a  difference  heaven-wide  between  that 
and  all  that  is  involved  in  the  doctrine  of  a  particular 
providence  and  of  paternal  regard  and  supervision. 
Yet  how  effectively  does  Christ  himself  use  this  doc¬ 
trine,  and  those  high  moral  qualities  revealed  in  con¬ 
nection  with  it,  to  enforce  practical  duty  !  Does  he 
command  us  to  love  our  enemies,  and  bless  them  that 
curse  us?  It  is  that  we  maybe  the  children  of  our 
Father  which  is  in  heaven,  who  "  maketh  his  sun  to  rise 
on  the  evil  and  on  the  good.”  Does  he  teach  us  the 
duty  of  forgiveness?  It  is  because  God  forgives  us. 
If  the  master  forgives  the  debt  of  ten  thousand  talents, 
the  servant  should  forgive  his  fellow-servant  the  debt 
of  a  hundred  pence.  Does  he  teach  that  the  pure  in 
heart  are  blessed?  It  is  because  "they  shall  see  God.” 
Does  he  teach  the  duty  of  letting  our  light  shine  ?  It 
is  that  we  may  glorify  our  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 
Would  an  apostle  teach  men  the  duty  of  mutual  love  ? 
"Herein,”  says  he,  "is  love;  not  that  we  loved  God, 
but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propi- 


122 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


tiation  for  our  sins.  Beloved,  if  God  so  loved  us,  we 
ought  also  to  love  one  another.”  And  in  the  same  way 
are  the  character  and  acts  of  Christ  referred  to.  Would 
Peter  teach  us  to  bear  injuries  patiently?  He  tells  us 
of  Him  "who,  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again; 
when  he  suffered,  he  threatened  not ;  but  committed 
himself  to  Him  that  judgeth  righteously.”  Would  Paul 
teach  us  lowliness  of  mind,  and  to  esteem  others  better 
than  ourselves,  what  is  his  argument?  He  says,  "Let 
this  mind  be  in  you,  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus; 
who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not  rob¬ 
bery  to  be  equal  with  God,  but  made  himself  of  no 
reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant.” 
Indeed,  the  more  we  examine  this  point,  the  more  we 
shall  be  surprised  to  see  how  almost  exclusively  the 
motives  to  Christian  morality  are  drawn  from  the  Chris¬ 
tian  religion,  and  how  its  doctrines,  and  facts,  and 
motives,  and  precepts,  all  coalesce  and  become  indisso¬ 
lubly  united  in  one  harmonious  and  perfect  whole. 

The  morality  proves  the  religion . — The  morality 
and  the  religion  being  thus  blended  as  one  whole,  the 
inquiry  arises,  whether  it  is  possible  that  such  a  moral¬ 
ity  should  either  originate  in,  or  be  thus  incorporated 
with,  a  false  religion. 

A  common  faculty  for  both.  —  There  are  those,  I 
know,  who  say  that  the  foundations  of  morality  in  man 
are  different  from  those  of  religion ;  and  I  am  not  dis- 
posed  to  deny  that  certain  faculties  are  called  into  high 
activity  in  religion,  which  are  excited  slightly,  if  at  all, 
in  the  duties  of  morality.  Still,  so  far  as  duty  is  con¬ 
cerned,  which  is  the  whole  of  morality,  and  which  is 
the  central  and  indispensable  part  of  any  true  religion, 
they  both  appeal  to  the  same  conscience,  and  to  that 
alone.  Depending  thus  upon  a  common  faculty,  a  true 
religion  and  a  true  morality  must  have  an  essential 
unity. 


FALSE  RELIGIONS  AND  MORALITY. 


123 


A  perfect  religion  involves  a  perfect  morality .  — That 
a  perfect  religion  must  comprise  a  perfect  morality,  is 
certain,  because  a  perfect  religion  must  include  every 
religious  duty  ;  and  we  are  under  obligation  to  perform 
our  duty  to  our  fellow-creatures,  not  simply  from  our 
relations  to  them,  but  because  the  performance  of  that 
duty  is  the  will  of  God.  Hence  every  moral  duty  is, 
and  must  be,  also  binding  as  a  religious  duty ;  and 
hence  no  man  can  be  truly  religious  further  than  he  is 
moral. 

Perfect  morality  impossible  from  a  false  religion .  — 
But  a  true  religion,  carried  out,  would  thus  certainly 
bear  as  its  fndt  a  perfect  morality.  Is  it  possible  that 
a  false  religion  should  bear  the  same  fruit  ?  Then  truth 
would  be  no  better  than  error ;  the  true  God  no  better 
than  an  idol.  Then  a  corrupt  tree  might  bring  forth 
good  fruit ;  ”  a  clean  thing  might  come  out  of  an  un¬ 
clean.”  The  question  is  not  simply  to  what  extent  a 
true  morality  and  a  false  religion  may  coexist,  but 
whether  such  a  morality  can  be  the  necessary  outgrowth 
and  fruit  of  such  a  religion.  That  it  can  be,  is  opposed 
to  our  primary  and  intuitive  convictions. 

It  is  not  conceivable  that  a  perfect  system  of  moral 
duty  should  coalesce  and  harmonize  with  the  religious 
duty  taught  by  a  system  of  falsehood,  such  as  the 
Christian  system  must  be,  if  it  did  not  come  from  God. 
But  in  the  Christian  system,  the  moral  and  religious 
duties  do  thus  coalesce,  and  form  a  part  of  one  inde¬ 
pendent  whole.  The  religious  morality  of  the  Bible,  if 
I  may  call  it  so, — that  which  relates  to  God, —  is  quite 
as  extraordinary  as  that  which  relates  to  man ;  it  is 
quite  as  far  elevated  above  that  of  any  other  system ; 
and  these,  when  united  and  interwoven  as  they  are  in 
the  Bible,  form  one  whole,  perfect  and  complete.  Be¬ 
sides,  a  perfect  system  of  morality  could  not  be  laid 
down,  even  in  an  abstract,  or  tabular  form,  in  connec- 


124 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


tion  with  a  false  religion ;  because  many  of  our  duties 
to  our  fellow-men,  as  well  as  the  motives  by  which  they 
are  enforced,  arise  out  of  our  relations  to  them  as  the 
children  of  a  common  parent,  and  a  knowledge  of  these 
relations  can  come  only  from  a  true  religion. 

Conclusion.  —  Our  conclusion  then  is,  that  if  the 
morality  is  what  we  claim  it  to  be,  the  religion  must  be 
true;  and  infidels  must  either  —  as  they  can  not — deny 
that  the  morality  is  perfect,  or  accept  Bie  religion. 
Christianity  is  no  heterogeneous  mass,  promiscuously 
thrown  together.  It  is  one,  an  organic  whole,  and 
must  be  accepted  or  rejected  as  such.  From  the  nature 
of  the  case,  therefore,  we  might  expect  —  what  all 
experience  shows  has  happened  —  that  any  attempt  to 
separate  this  morality  from  this  religion,  and  yet  give 
it  power,  would  be  like  the  attempt  to  separate  the 
branch  from  the  parent  stock,  and  yet  cause  it  to  live. 
We  might  expect,  if  we  were  ever  to  see  a  perfect 
morality  coming  up  from  the  wilderness  of  this  world, 
that  she  would  come,  not  walking  alone,  but  “  leaning 
upon  her  Beloved.” 


LECTURE  V. 


I 

ARGUMENT  FIFTH:  CHRISTIANITY  ADAPTED  TO  MAN. —  DIVISION 
FIRST,  ITS  QUICKENING  AND  GUIDING  POWER.  -  ITS  ADAP¬ 
TATION  TO  THE  INTELLECT,  THE  AFFECTIONS,  THE  IMAGI¬ 
NATION,  THE  CONSCIENCE,  AND  THE  WILL. 

Christianity  is  analogous  to  nature ;  it  coincides 
with  natural  religion :  it  meets  the  demands  of  the 
conscience  as  a  discriminating  power ;  and,  as  embo¬ 
soming  a  perfect  morality,  it  must  be  from  God. 


We  next  inquire  after  its  adaptation  to  man.  What 
are  its  capacities  to  quicken  and  guide  those  leading 
faculties  in  the  right  action  of  which  his  perfection  and 
happiness  must  consist.  Those  faculties  are  the  Intel¬ 
lect,  the  Affections,  the  Imagination,  the  Conscience, 
and  the  Will. 

Christianity  and  the  intellect.  —  Information  and 
reflection.  —  By  the  adaptation  of  Christianity  to  the 
intellect,  I  mean  its  tendency  to  give  it  clearness  and 
strength.  I  mean  by  it  just  what  is  meant  when  it  is 
said  that  nature  is  adapted  to  the  intellect.  The  intel¬ 
lect  is  enlarged  and  strengthened  by  the  exercise  of  its 
powers  on  suitable  subjects.  This  exercise  can  be 
induced  in  only  two  ways  —  by  furnishing  it  with 
information ,  or  by  leading  it  to  study  and  reflection; 
and  whichever  of  these  we  regard,  wre  need  not  fear  to 

O  7 

compare  Christianity  with  nature  as  adapted  to  enlarge 
and  strengthen  the  intellectual  powers. 


(125) 


126 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Information.  - — And,  first,  of  information.  If  we 
consider  the  Christian  revelation,  as  we  fairly  may  in 
this  connection,  as  it  recognizes,  includes,  and  presup¬ 
poses  the  Old  Testament,  there  is  no  book  that  can 
compare  with  it  for  the  variety  and  importance  of  the 
information  it  gives;  nor  can  it  be  exceeded  by  nature 
itself.  From  this,  and  from  this  alone,  do  we  know 
any  thing  of  the  origin  of  the  world  and  of  the  human 
race ;  of  the  introduction  of  natural  and  moral  evil ; 
of  the  history  of  men  before  the  deluge  ;  of  the  deluge 
itself,  as  connected  with  the  race  of  man ;  of  the  early 
settlement  and  dispersions  of  the  race ;  of  the  history 
of  the  Jews;  and  of  the  history  of  the  early  rise  and 
progress  of  Christianity.  Without  the  Bible,  an  im¬ 
penetrable  curtain  would  be  dropped  between  us  and 
the  whole  history  of  the  race  further  back  than  the 
Greeks,  or  certainly  the  Egyptians ;  and  who  does  not 
feel  that  the  letting  down  of  such  a  curtain  would  act 
upon  the  mind,  not  simply  by  the  amount  of  informa¬ 
tion  it  would  withdraw,  but  with  the  effect  of  a  chill 
and  a  paralysis,  from  the  necessity  of  that  information 
to  give  completeness  to  knowledge  as  an  organized 
whole  ?  It  would  be  like  taking  the  hook  out  of  the 
beam  on  which  the  whole  chain  hangs.  And,  again, 
what  information  gained  from  nature  can  be  more 
interesting  than  that  which  the  Bible  gives  concerning 


God  as  a  Father,  concerning  his  universal  providence, 
our  accountability,  a  resurrection  from  the  dead,  the 
second  coming  of  Christ,  and  an  eternal  life?  Who 
would  substitute  the  mists  of  conjecture  for  this  mighty 
background,  piled  up  by  revelation  along  the  horizon 
of  the  future? 

Philosophic  spirit  required.  —  But  —  to  say  nothing 
of  information,  as  it  is  not  from  that  that  the  mind  gains 
its  chief  efficiency — I  infer  that  Christianity  is  adapted 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  TRUTH. 


127 


to  the  intellect,  1.  From  the  fact  of  the  identity  of 
its  spirit  with  that  of  true  philosophy.  Of  this  I  have 
already  spoken. 

Indirectly  favorable.  —  2.  Christianity  is  indirectly 
favorable  to  the  intellect  by  bringing  men  out  from 
under  the  dominion  of  sensuality,  and  of  those  low 
vices  by  which  it  is  checked  and  dwarfed  in  its  growth. 
The  temperance  and  sobriety  of  life  which  it  enjoins 
are  essential,  as  conditions,  to  the  full  expansion  and 
power  of  the  intellect. 

Its  estimate  of  truth.  — 3.  That  Christianity  is  favor¬ 
able  to  the  intellect,  is  obvious  from  the  place  which  it 
assigns  to  truth.  Truth,  in  this  system,  lies  at  the 
foundation  of  every  thing.  It  is  contradistinguished 
from  every  other  system,  pretending  to  come  from  God, 
by  this.  Christ  said  that  he  came  into  the  world  to 
bear  witness  of  the  truth.  He  prayed  that  God  would 
sanctify  men,  but  it  was  through  the  truth.  It  seems 
to  have  been  the  object  of  Christ  to  place  his  disciples 
in  a  position  in  which  they  could  intelligently,  as  well 
as  affectionately,  yield  themselves  to  him,  and  to  thi 
government  of  God.  How  remarkable  are  his  words  ! 
"Henceforth,”  says  he,  "I  call  you  not  servants;  for 
the  servant  knoweth  not  what  his  lord  doeth ;  but  I 
have  called  you  friends  ;  for  all  things  that  I  have  heard 
of  my  Father  I  have  made  known  unto  you.”  Christ 
is  spoken  of  as  a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles.  The 
object  of  Paul  was  to  turn  men  from  darkness  to  light, 
as  well  as  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God.  He 
spoke  the  words  of  truth  as  well  as  of  soberness.  If 
he  was  strongly  moved  by  the  conduct  of  a  church,  it 
was  because  it  did  not  obey  the  truth.  Does  the  beloved 
disciple  exhort  the  elect  lady  not  to  receive  some  into 
her  house?  It  is  those  who  do  not  teach  the  truth. 
Light  in  the  understanding  is  scarcely  less  an  object, 


128 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


with  Christianity,  than  purity  in  the  affections.  Its 
whole  scope  and  tendency  is  to  magnify  the  importance 
of  truth.  The  enemies  of  Christianity  can  not  point 
out  any  thing,  either  in  its  letter  or  spirit,  which  would 
restrict  knowledge  or  cramp  the  intellect.  We  are, 
indeed,  required  to  have  faith  ;  but  we  are  also  required 
to  "add  to  faith  knowledge.”  We  are  to  adopt  no 
conviction  on  the  ground  of  any  blind  impulse  ;  we 
are  always  to  be  able  to  give  a  reason  of  the  hope  that 
is  in  us.  We  glory  in  Christianity,  as  a  religion  of 
light  not  less  than  a  religion  of  love. 

Freedom  of  opinion  required.  —  4.  Christianity  is 
favorable  to  the  intellect,  because,  wherever  it  exists  in 
its  purity,  there  must  be  freedom  of  opinion,  and  this 
is  one  great  condition  of  vigorous  intellect.  Recog¬ 
nizing  truth  as  the  great  instrument  of  moral  power 
and  of  moral  changes  in  the  soul,  making  no  account 
of  any  forms,  or  external  conduct  not  springing  from 
conviction,  Christianity  claims  truth  as  the  right  of  the 
human  soul.  What  was  the  fundamental  principle  of 
the  Reformation,  but  the  right  of  the  people  to  the  truth, 
and  the  whole  truth  —  access  for  themselves  to  its  foun¬ 
tain-head  in  the  Bible  ?  And  whence  did  that  principle 
spring,  but  from  the  Bible  itself,  from  that  Bible  found 
and  read  by  Luther  ?  It  is  to  the  very  book  he  abuses 
that  the  infidel  owes  that  freedom  by  which  he  is  per¬ 
mitted  to  abuse  it ;  for  where,  except  where  the  Bible 
has  influence,  do  you  find  opinion  free?  The  fact  is, 
that  Christianity  gives  to  God  and  truth  a  supremacy 
in  the  mind  which  unfits  man  for  becoming  either  the 
dupe  or  the  tool  of  designing  men  ;  and  hence,  chiefly, 
their  attempts  to  corrupt  it,  and  to  take  it  from  the 
people. 

Adapted  as  nature  is. — 5.  But  I  have  intimated 
that  Christianity  is  adapted  to  the  intellect  in  the  same 
way  that  nature  is.  1  wish  to  show  this.  How  is  it, 


NATURE  AND  CHRISTIANITY  - MODE  OF  TEACHING.  129 


then,  that  nature  improves  the  mind  ?  Evidently  only 
as  it  contains  thought.  Mind  can  not  commune  with 
chaotic  matter,  but  only  with  mind ;  and  therefore  the 
study  of  nature  can  improve  the  intellect  only  as  we 
gain  from  it  the  thought  of  its  Author.  It  would  seem 
to  be  plain  that  nothing,  whether  a  book,  or  a  machine, 
or  a  work  of  art,  or  of  nature,  can  be  a  profitable  object 
of  study,  except  for  the  thought  it  contains ;  and  that 
when  the  whole  of  that  thought  is  grasped  by  the  mind, 
there  can  be  no  longer  any  improvement  in  the  study  of 
that  object.  And  nature  seems  to  be  so  constructed, 
in  almost  all  her  departments,  (perhaps  for  the  very 
purpose  of  training  the  intellect,)  as  to  render  it  diffi¬ 
cult  to  discover  the  controlling  thought  according  to 
which  they  were  constructed.  On  the  surface,  all  seems 
confused  and  irregular ;  but  as  we  penetrate  deeper, 
perhaps  by  long  processes  of  observation  and  induc¬ 
tion,  we  find  a  principle  of  order  and  harmony  running 
through  all.  What  more  confused,  apparently,  than 
the  motions  and  appearances  of  the  heavenly  bodies  ? 
See,  now,  the  ancient  astronomer  studying  these  ap¬ 
pearances.  How  does  he  grope  in  the  dark  !  How 
fanciful  and  inadequate  are  his  hypotheses  !  Plainly, 
he  is  but  groping  after  the  true  idea  or  thought  of  the 
system,  as  it  lay  in  the  mind  of  God.  Give  him  this 
carried  out  into  its  details,  and  he  has  the  science  of 
astronomy  completed.  It  has  nothing  more  to  say  to 
him.  So  the  heavens  are  constructed ;  so  they  move. 
Not  less  confused  to  the  eye  of  man,  for  ages,  was  the 
vegetable  creation ;  but  at  length,  running  like  a  line 
of  light  through  all  its  species  and  genera,  the  true 
principle  of  classification  was  found.  So  it  was  in 
chemistry ;  so  in  geology,  if,  indeed,  the  true  thought 
there  be  yet  found. 

It  would  appear,  then,  that  nature  is  adapted  to  the 
intellect  of  man  only,  first,  as  it  contains  the  thought 


130 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


of  Gocl ;  and,  secondly,  as  it  is  so  constructed  as  to 
stimulate  and  task  the  powers  of  the  intellect  in  the 
attainment  of  that  thought.  Now,  I  have  no  right  to 
assume,  here,  that  the  Bible  contains  the  true  thought 
of  God ;  but  I  do  say  that  its  thoughts  are  not  less 
grand  and  exciting  than  those  of  nature,  and  that  there 
is  between  its  construction  and  that  of  nature  a  singular 
analogy,  as  adapted  to  the  intellect.  There  is  the  same 
apparent  want  of  order  and  adjustment,  and  the  same 
deep  harmony,  running  through  the  whole.  An  indi¬ 
vidual  truth,  revealed  in  one  age  for  a  particular  pur¬ 
pose,  and,  by  itself,  adapted  to  the  use  of  man,  lies 
imbedded  here,  and  another  there.  By  comparison,  it 
is  seen  that  they  may  come  together,  as  bone  to  its 
fellow-bone,  till,  at  length,  the  mammoth  framework 
of  a  complete  organization  stands  before  us.  Does  the 
Bible  contain  a  system  of  theology?  Yes,  a  complete 
system ;  but  it  contains  it  as  the  heavens  contain  the 
system  of  astronomy.  Its  truths  lie  there  in  no  logical 
order.  They  appear  at  first  like  a  map  of  the  apparent 
motions  of  the  planets,  whose  paths  seem  to  cross  each 
other  in  all  directions ;  but  you  have  only  to  find  the 
true  centre,  and  the  orbs  of  truth  take  their  places, 
and  circle  around  it  like  the  stars  of  heaven.  And  I 
venture  to  say  that  the  efforts  of  thought,  the  struggles 
of  intellect,  that  have  been  called  forth  for  the  adjust¬ 
ment  of  this  system,  have  done  more  for  the  human 
mind  than  its  efforts  in  any  other  science.  Its  questions 
have  stirred,  not  the  minds  of  philosophers  alone,  but 
every  meditative  human  soul.  Does  the  Bible  contain 
a  system  of  ethics?  Yes  ;  but  it  is  as  the  earth  contains 
a  system  of  geology ;  and  long  might  the  eye  of  the 
listless  or  unscientific  reader  rest  upon  its  pages  with¬ 
out  discovering  that  the  system  was  there, — just  as 
men  trod  the  earth  for  near  six  thousand  years  without 
discovering  that  its  surface  was  a  regular  structure,  with 


TWO  CLASSES  OF  QUESTIONS. 


131 


its  strata  arranged  in  an  assignable  order.  And  after 
we  have  reason  to  suppose  there  is  a  system,  whether 
in  nature  or  the  Bible,  we  often  find  facts  that  seem  to 
contradict  each  other,  that  can  be  reconciled  only  by 
the  most  patient  attention ;  perhaps,  in  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge,  can  not  be  reconciled  at  all. 
How  strong,  then,  is  the  argument,  drawn  from  this 
structure  of  the  Bible,  that  it  did  not  originate  in  the 
mind  of  man  !  The  mind  loves  unity  ;  it  seeks  to  sys¬ 
tematize  every  thing.  It  is  in  finished  systems  that 
great  minds  produce  their  works,  never  leaving  truths, 
seemingly  incompatible,  lying  side  by  side,  and  requir¬ 
ing  or  expecting  us  to  adopt  them  both.  But  so  does 
the  Bible,  and  so  does  nature.  Our  conclusion,  there¬ 
fore,  is  that,  if  nature  is  adapted  to  the  mind  of  man, 
so,  and  on  the  same  principle,  is  the  Bible. 

A  higher  hind  of  knowledge  given.  —  6.  Once  more, 
Christianity  is  adapted  to  the  intellect  because  it  puts 
if  in  possession  of  a  higher  hind  of  knowledge  than 
nature  can  give.  It  solves  questions  of  a  different 
order,  and  those,  too,  which  man,  as  an  intellectual 
being,  most  needs  to  have  solved.  There  are  plainly 
two  classes  of  questions  which  we  may  ask  concerning 
the  works  of  God;  and  concerning  one  of  these,  phi¬ 
losophy  is  profoundly  silent.  One  class  respects  the 
relation  of  the  different  parts  of  a  constituted  whole 
to  each  other  and  to  that  whole.  The  other  respects 
the  ultimate  design  of  the  whole  itself.  In  the  pres¬ 
ent  state  of  science,  questions  of  the  first  class  can 
generally  be  answered  with  a  good  degree  of  satisfac¬ 
tion.  Man  existing,  the  philosopher  can  tell  the  number 
of  bones,  and  muscles,  and  blood-vessels,  and  nerves, 
in  his  body,  and  the  uses  of  all  these.  He  may,  per¬ 
haps,  tell  how  the  stomach  digests,  and  the  heart  beats, 
and  the  glands  secrete  ;  but  of  the  great  purpose  for 
which  man  himself  was  made,  he  can  know  nothing. 


132 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


But  this  knowledge  Christianity  gives.  It  attributes 
to  God  a  purpose  worthy  of  him ;  one  that  satisfies  the 
intellect  and  the  heart ;  and  the  knowledge  of  this 
must  modify  our  views  of  all  history,  and  of  the  whole 
drama  of  human  life.  It  gives  us  a  new  stand-point , 
from  which  we  see  every  thing  in  different  relations  and 
proportions.  We  had  seen  the  river,  before,  on  which 
we  were  sailing ;  now  we  see  the  ocean.  Entirely  dif¬ 
ferent  must  be  the  relation  of  man  to  God,  both  as  an 
intellectual  and  a  practical  being,  when  he  knows  his 
plans  and  can  intelligently  cooperate  with  him.  He 
now  comes,  in  the  language  of  our  Saviour,  into  the 
relation  of  a  friend.  Surely  no  one  can  think  lightly 
of  the  influence  of  this  on  the  intellect ! 

Testimony  of  facts.  —  From  the  arguments  now 
stated,  we  infer  that  Christianity  is  adapted  to  the 
intellect ;  and  these  arguments  are  confirmed  by  fact. 
No  book,  not  nature  itself,  has  ever  waked  up  intel¬ 
lectual  activity  like  the  Bible.  On  the  battle-field  of 
truth,  it  has  ever  been  around  this  that  the  conflict  has 
raged.  What  book  besides  ever  caused  the  writing  of 
so  many  other  books?  Take  from  the  libraries  of 
Christendom  all  those  which  have  sprung,  I  will  not 
say  indirectly,  but  directly  from  it, — those  written  to 
oppose,  or  defend,  or  elucidate  it,  —  and  how  would 
they  be  diminished !  The  very  multitude  of  infidel 
books  is  a  witness  to  the  power  with  which  the  Bible 
stimulates  the  intellect.  Why  do  we  not  see  the  same 
amount  of  active  intellect  coming  up,  and  dashing  and 
roaring  around  the  Koran?  And  the  result  of  this 
activity  is  such  as  we  might  anticipate.  The  general 
intellectual,  as  well  as  moral  superiority  of  Christian 
nations,  and  that,  too,  in  proportion  as  they  have  had 
a  pure  Christianity,  stands  out  in  too  broad  a  sunlight 
to  be  questioned  or  obscured.  Wherever  the  word  of 
God  has  really  entered,  it  has  given  light  —  light  to 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  THE  PHYSICAL  SCIENCES.  133 


individuals,  light  to  communities.  It  has  favored  liter¬ 
ature  ;  and  by  means  of  it  alone  has  society  been: 
brought  up  to  that  point  at  which  it  has  been  able  to 
construct  the  apparatus  of  physical  science,  and  to  carry 
its  investigations  to  the  point  which  they  have  now 
reached.  The  instruments  of  a  well-furnished  astro¬ 
nomical  observatory  presuppose  accumulations  of  wealthy 
and  the  existence  of  a  class  of  arts,  and  of  men,  that 
could  be  the  product  only  of  Christian  civilization. 
Accordingly,  we  find,  whatever  may  be  said  of  litera¬ 
ture,  that  physical  science,  except  in  Christian  countries* 
has,  after  a  time,  either  become  stationary,  or  begun  to 
recede ;  and  there  is  no  reason  for  supposing  that  the 
path  of  indefinite  progress  which  now  lies  before  it* 
could  have  been  opened  except  in  connection  with. 
Christianity.  Individual  men  who  reject  Christianity,, 
and  yet  live  within  the  general  sphere  of  its  influence, 
may  distinguish  themselves  in  science  ;  they  have  done 
so  ;  but  it  has  been  on  grounds  and  conditions  furnished 
by  that  very  religion  which  they  have  rejected.  Chris¬ 
tianity  furnishes  no  new  faculties,  no  direct  power  to 
the  intellect,  but  a  general  condition  of  society  favorable 
to  its  cultivation ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  if* 
in  such  a  state  of  things,  men  who  seek  intellectual 
distinction  solely,  rejecting  the  moral  restraints  of 
Christianity,  should  distinguish  themselves  by  intel¬ 
lectual  effort. 

Objection. — But  if  there  is  this  adaptation  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  to  the  intellect,  ought  not  those  who  are  truly 
Christians  to  distinguish  themselves  above  others  in 
literature  and  science  ?  This  does  not  follow.  Up  to 
a  certain  point,  Christianity  in  the  heart  will  certainly 
give  clearness  and  strength  to  the  intellect ;  and  cases 
are  not  wanting  in  which  the  intellectual  powers  have 
been  surprisingly  roused  through  the  action  of  the 
moral  nature,  and  of  the  affections,  awakened  by  the 

i 


^34  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRIS HANITY , 

religion  of  Christ.  But  when  wc  consider  that  the 
change  produced  by  Christianity  is  a  moral  change  ; 
that  the  objects  it  presents  are  moral  objects ;  that  it 
presents  this  world  as  needing  not  so  much  to  be 
enlightened  in  the  more  abstract  sciences,  or  to  be 
delighted  with  the  refinements  of  literature,  as  to  be 
rescued  from  moral  pollution,  and  to  be  won  back  to 
God  ;  —  perhaps  we  ought  not  to  be  surprised  if  it  has 
caused  many  to  be  absorbed  in  labors  of  an  entirely 
different  kind,  who  would  otherwise  have  trodden  the 
highest  walks  of  science. 

Distinguished  piety  not  unfavorable  to  intellectual  cul¬ 
tivation . —  And  here,  precisely  at  this  point,  I  think 
we  may  see  how  an  impression  has  been  originated  in 
the  minds  of  some  that  distinguished  piety  is  even 
unfavorable  to  the  highest  cultivation  of  the  sciences 
and  arts  and  to  refinement  of  taste.  If  this  were  so, — 
as  it  is  not,  —  it  would  prove  nothing  against  Chris¬ 
tianity  ;  nor  would  it  invalidate  at  all  the  position  I 
have  taken,  that  it  is  favorable  to  the  intellect.  There 
are  things  more  important  than  science,  or  literature, 
or  taste.  Nor  is  it  in  these  that  the  true  and  the  highest 
dignity  of  man  consists.  Perhaps  Paul,  if  he  had  not 
been  a  Christian,  might  have  shone  as  a  philosopher. 
He  did  not  become  less  a  philosopher  by  being  a  Chris¬ 
tian  ;  but  the  energies  of  his  mind  were  given  neither 
to  philosophy  nor  to  literature,  but  to  something  far 
higher.  In  a  noble  forgetfulness  of  self,  he  strove  to 
turn  men  "  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power 
of  Satan  unto  God,”  And  so,  now,  many  of  the  finest 
spirits  of  our  race  are  diverted  from  science  by  the 
practical  calls  and  self-denying  duties  arising  from  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  world.  But  does  this  dwarf  the 
intellect?  Far  from  it.  It  leads  it  to  grapple  practi¬ 
cally  with  questions  higher  than  those  of  science,  though 
\t  may  be  not  so  as  to  gain  the  admiration  of  men 


THE  BIBLE  AND  POPULAR  LITERATURE. 


135 


and  lienee  we  often  find  in  a  humble  Christian  a  breadth 
of  mind  which  we  should  look  for  in  vain  in  many 
professed  votaries  of  literature.  Can  that  dwarf  the 
intellect  which  shows  it  realities  more  grand  than  those 
of  science  ;  which,  with  a  full  comprehension  of  the 
nature,  and  processes,  and  ends  of  science  and  of  litera¬ 
ture,  yet  gives  them  their  rightful,  though  subordinate 
place  ?  Is  ever  ;  even  though  it  should  sometimes  lead 
to  the  general  feeling  expressed  by  one  who  said  that 
he  would  attend  to  his  more  immediate  duties  here, 
and  study  the  science  of  astronomy  on  his  way  up  to 
heaven.  No  ;  men  may  do  what  they  please  in  dissem¬ 
inating  school  libraries,  and  scattering  abroad  cheap 
publications ;  but,  for  energy  and  balance,  I  would 
rather  have  the  intellect  formed  by  the  Bible  alone, — 
by  grappling  with  its  mighty  questions,  by  communing 
with  its  high  mysteries,  by  tracing  its  narratives,  by 
listening  to  its  matchless  eloquence  and  poetry,  —  than 
to  have  that  formed  by  all  the  light  and  popular  litera¬ 
ture,  and  by  all  the  scientific  tracts,  in  existence ;  and 
if  these  efforts  should  practically  exclude  the  Bible,  and 
prevent  a  general  and  familiar  acquaintance  with  it  on 
the  part  of  the  young,  instead  of  being  a  blessing,  they 
would  bring  only  disaster. 

The  Bible  adapted  to  alL  —  Before  leaving  this  sub¬ 
ject,  perhaps  I  ought  to  advert  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  teachings  of  the  Bible  are  given,  as  a  book  adapted 
to  the  instruction  of  all  classes,  and  of  all  ages.  This, 
though  a  minor  point,  is  one  of  great  interest.  In  this 
respect,  again,  the  Bible  is  like  nature,  and  is  indeed  a 
most  wonderful  book.  What  a  problem  it  would  be  to 
prepare  a  book  now,  which  should  lie  equally  adapted 
to  the  young  and  to  the  old,  to  the  learned  and  to  the 
unlearned  !  Man  could  not  do  it.  But  such  a  book  is 
the  Bible.  It  has  a  simplicity,  a  majesty,  a  beauty,  a 
variety,  which  fit  it  for  all ;  and,  as  the  eye  of  the  child 


136 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


can  see  something  in  nature  to  please  and  instruct  it, 
while  the  philosopher  can  see  more,  and  yet  not  all,-- 
so  does  the  youngest  and  most  ignorant  person,  who 
can  read  its  pages,  find,  in  the  Bible,  narratives,  para¬ 
bles,  brief  sayings,  just  suited  to  his  comprehension ; 
while  the  profoundest  theologian,  or  the  greatest  phi¬ 
losopher,  can  never  feel  that  he  has  sounded  all  its 
depths.  And  here  we  may  perhaps  see  one  great 
reason  why  the  revelation  of  God  was  written  by  so 
many  different  persons,  at  different  times,  and  with 
such  different  habits  of  thought  and  of  feeling.  It  was 
because  it  was  intended  to  be  a  book  for  the  instruction 
of  the  race,  and  this  it  could  not  be  if  it  were  written 
in  any  one  style,  or  were  stamped  with  the  peculiarities 
of  any  one  human  mind.  In  order  to  this,  if  must 
embrace  narratives,  poetry,  proverbs,  parables,  letters, 
profound  reasoning,  — which,  while  they  all  harmonized 
in  doctrine  and  in  spirit,  should  yet  be  as  diversified 
as  the  hills  and  valleys  of  the  green  earth ;  should  yet 
refract  the  pure  light  of  inspiration  in  colors  to  catch 
and  fix  every  eye.  Wonderful  book  !  If  some  of  its 
parts  seem  to  us  less  interesting,  let  us  remember  that 
nature  too  has  many  departments,  and  that  it  was  made 
for  all ;  and  the  more  we  study  it  in  this  point  of  view, 
the  more  ready  shall  we  be  to  join  with  the  apostle  in 
saying,  that  "  all  scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of 
God.” 

We  say,  then,  that  Christianity  is  adapted  to  the 
intellect,  because  its  spirit  coincides  with  that  of  true 
philosophy ;  because  it  removes  the  incubus  of  sensu¬ 
ality  and  low  vice ;  because  of  the  place  it  gives  to 
truth ;  because  it  demands  free  inquiry ;  because  its 
mighty  truths  and  systems  are  brought  before  the  mind 
in  the  same  way  as  the  truths  and  systems  of  nature  ; 
because  it  solves  higher  problems  than  nature  can ; 
and  because  it  is  so  communicated  as  to  be  adapted  to 
every  mind. 


THE  AFFECTIONS. 


137 


Christianity  adapted  to  the  affections.  — •  But,  if 
Christianity  is  adapted  to  the  intellect,  as  a  religion 
of  light,  it  is  not  less  adapted  to  the  affections,  as  a 
religion  of  love.  The  affections  are  that  part  of  our 
being  from  which  we  are  most  susceptible  of  enjoyment 
and  of  suffering.  They  are  the  source  of  all  disinter- 
ested  action,  of  all  cheerful  and  happy  obedience. 
They  are,  to  the  other  faculties  of  man,  what  the  light 
is  to  the  body  of  the  sun,  what  its  leaves  and  blossoms 
are  to  the  tree ;  and  the  system  in  which  they  are  not 
regarded,  and  put  in  their  proper  place,  can  not  be 
from  God. 

Affections  —  how  elicited , — The  affections,  as  we  all 
know,  are  not  under  the  immediate  control  of  the  will ; 
that  is,  we  can  not  love  any  object  we  choose,  simply 
by  willing  to  love  it.  We  may  act  toward  an  unworthy 
being  —  a  tyrant,  for  example  —  as  if  we  loved  him; 
but,  unless  we  see  in  him  qualities  really  excellent 
and  lovely,  it  is  impossible  we  should  love  him.  The 
natural  affections,  so  far  as  they  are  instinctive,  have 
their  own  laws.  Laying  them,  then,  aside,  the  first 
condition  on  which  it  is  possible  for  us  to  love  a  moral 
being,  as  such,  is  a  perception  of  some  excellence  in 
his  character.  If  we  are  rightly  constituted,  we  shall 
love  him  on  the  perception  of  such  excellence,  whether 
he  has  any  particular  relation  to  us  or  not.  But  the 
whole  strength  of  our  affections  can  be  elicited  only 
when  goodness  is  manifested  toward  us  individually. 
That  which  should  call  forth  our  strongest  affections 
would  evidently  be  a  being  of  perfect  moral  excellence, 
putting  forth  effort  and  sacrifice  on  our  behalf.  To  be 
adapted  to  the  affections,  then,  any  system  must  first 
recognize  and  encourage  them ;  and,  secondly,  it  must 
present  suitable  objects  to  call  them  forth. 

Support  in  trials.  — I  observe,  then,  first,  that  Chris¬ 
tianity  is  adapted  to  the  affections,  because  it  encourages 


138 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


and  supports  them  in  the  relations  and  trials  of  the 
present  life.  And  here,  perhaps,  I  ought  to  mention 
that  the  domestic  constitution,  which  Christianity,  and 
that  alone,  enjoins  and  maintains  in  its  purity,  is  funda¬ 
mental  to  a  pure  and  healthful  state  of  the  natural  and 
social  affections.  It  is  impossible  there  should  be, 
under  any  other  system  or  conditions,  the  same  conjugal, 
and  parental,  and  filial  affection  as  there  will  be  when 
the  domestic  constitution,  as  enjoined  by  Christianity, 
is  strictly  regarded.  Here  we  see  the  far-reaching 
wisdom  of  Christ  in  casting  up  an  inclosure,  the  mate¬ 
rials  of  which  we  now  see  were  provided  in  the  nature 
of  things,  which  should  be  to  the  affections  as  a  walled 
garden,  where  their  tendrils  and  blossoms  might  put 
forth  secure  from  any  intruder.  Accordingly,  who  can 
estimate  the  blessings  of  peace,  and  purity,  and  hallowed 
affection,  which  have  been  enjoyed  through  this  consti¬ 
tution,  and  which  are  now  enjoyed  around  ten  thousand 
firesides  in  every  Christian  land?  But,  besides  this, 
Christianity  encourages  directly  the  natural  affections 
of  kindred  and  of  friendship  ;  it  never  condemns  grief 
as  a  weakness  ;  and  it  affords  the  most  effectual  conso¬ 
lation  when  these  relations  are  sundered  by  death.  In 
this  respect,  it  is  contrasted  not  only  with  the  selfish 
Epicureanism  and  sensual  indulgences  by  which  the 
heathen  became  "  without  natural  affection,”  but  espe¬ 
cially  with  the  proud  spirit  of  Stoicism  —  a  spirit  far 
from  having  become  extinct  with  the  sect.  Stoicism 
would  fain  elevate  human  nature,  but  it  really  dismem¬ 
bers  it.  It  was  an  attempt  to  destroy  that  which  they 
knew  not  how  to  regulate.  To  do  this,  they  were 
obliged  to  deny  their  own  nature,  and  to  affect  insensi¬ 
bility,  when  it  was  impossible  that  man  should  not  feel. 
It  was,  indeed,  a  hard  task  which  this  system  imposed, 
—  to  feel  the  cold  hand  of  death  grasping  those  warm 
affections  which  are  so  deeply  rooted  in  the  heart,  and 


CHRISTIANITY  NOT  STOICAL . 


139 


withering  them  up,  and  tearing  them  away,  and  yet 
shed  no  tear.  They  were  driven  to  this  because  they 
could  find  no  consolation  in  death.  They  knew  not 
the  rod,  or  Him  who  appointed  it ;  but  assumed  an 
attitude  of  sullen  defiance,  and  steeled  themselves  as 
well  as  they  were  able  against  the  bolts  of  what  they 
deemed  a  stern  necessity.  This  system,  indeed,  was 
not  favorable  to  the  growth  of  the  natural  affections  at 
all ;  and  many  who  adhered  to  it  refused  to  suffer  them 
to  expand,  or  to  enter  into  any  intimate  alliances.  But 
Christianity  neither  destroys  those  affections  in  which 
we  find  the  beauty  and  the  fragrance  of  existence,  nor 
does  it  nourish  those  which  must  bleed,  without  furnish¬ 
ing  a  balm  to  heal  the  wound.  It  is  indulgent  to  our 
weakness,  and  never  sneers  at  the  natural  expression 
of  sorrow.  "  Jesus  wept.”  Surely,  if  we  except  our 
own  death-bed,  there  is  no  place  where  we  so  much  need 
support  as  at  the  death-bed  of  a  friend,  a  wife,  a  child ; 
and  the  religion  or  the  system,  the  Stoicism  or  the 
Skepticism,  which  fails  us  there,  is  good  for  nothing. 
How  desolate  often  the  condition  of  those 

Who  “to  the  grave  have  followed  those  they  love, 

And  on  th’  inexorable  threshold  stand  ; 

WTith  cherished  names  its  speechless  calm  reprove, 

And  stretch  into  th’  abyss  their  ungrasped  hand  ”  ! 

But  just  here  it  is  that  Christianity  comes  in  with  its 
strong  supports.  This  it  does,  1.  By  the  sympathy 
which  it  provides  ;  for  it  not  only  supposes  those  who 
are  afflicted  to  weep,  but  it  commands  others  to  weep 
with  them.  2.  By  teaching  us  that  our  afflictions  are 
brought  upon  us,  not  by  a  blind  fate,  but  by  a  wise  and 
kind  Parent.  3.  By  the  blessed  hopes  which  it  enables 
us  to  cherish.  W e  sorrow  not  as  those  who  have  no 
hope ;  "  for,  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose 
again,  even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God 


140  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

bring  with  him.”  4.  And  by  encouraging  and  enabling 
us  to  fix  our  affections  upon  a  higher  and  better  object. 
So  long  as  we  have  something  to  love,  the  heart  is  not 
desolate.  Christianity  furnishes  us  with  an  object  that 
can  not  fail  us.  It  suffers  the  affections  to  shoot  out 
their  tendrils  here  upon  the  earth  as  vigorously  as  they 
may;  but  it  trains  them  up,  and  trains  them  up,. till 
it  fixes  them  around  the  base  of  the  eternal  throne. 
Then,  if  these  lower  tendrils  are  severed,  they  do  not 
foil  to  the  dust  to  be  trampled  on,  and  wither,  and 
decay,  till  our  hearts  die  within  us  ;  they  fix  themselves 
the  more  firmly  to  their  all-sufficient  and  never-failing 
support.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  all  these  circumstances 
must  make  the  valley  of  affliction  far  less  dark  than  it 
once  was.  To  the  true  Christian  there  is  light  all  the 
way  through  it,  there  is  light  at  the  end  of  it. 

Thus  Christianity  aims  at  no  heights  of  Stoicism.  It 
neither  uproots  nor  dwarfs  the  affections,  on  the  one 
hand,  nor  does  it,  on  the  other,  leave  them  to  the  wild 
and  aimless  paroxysms  of  a  hopeless  sorrow ;  but  it 
encourages  their  growth,  and,  in  affliction,  gives  them 
the  support  which  they  need. 

Presents  an  adequate  object.  — And  this  leads  me  to 
observe,  secondly,  that  Christianity  is  adapted  to  the 
affections  because  it  presents  them  with  an  object,  upon 
which  they  can  rest,  that  is  infinite,  perfect,  and  un¬ 
changeable.  Here  we  find  the  transcendent  excellence 
of  this  religion,  in  that  it  presents  God  as  the  object  of 
our  affections  ;  and  I  know  of  nothing  in  it  more  amaz¬ 
ing  than  the  union  that  it  presents,  in  God,  of  those 
infinite  natural  attributes  which  raise  in  the  mind  the 
highest  possible  emotions  of  awe  and  sublimity,  —  and 
of  those  holy  moral  attributes  which  cause  the  angels 
to  vail  their  faces,  —  with  the  pity,  and  condescension, 
and  love,  which  Christianity  represents  him  as  mani¬ 
festing  toward  the  guilty  creatures  of  a  day.  Here 


GOD  AN  OBJECT  OF  LOVE. 


141 


was  a  difficult  point.  Beforehand,  I  should  have  thought 
it  impossible  that  the  infinite  and  holy  God  should  so 
reveal  himself,  to  a  creature  so  insignificant  and  guilty 
as  man,  as  to  lead  him  to  have  confidence  in  him,  and 
to  look  up  and  say,  "  My  Father  !  ”  Yet  so  does  Chris¬ 
tianity  reveal  God.  It  is  a  revelation  adapted,  not  to 
angels,  but  to  just  such  a  being  as  man,  guilty,  and 
having  the  distrust  that  guilt  naturally  engenders,  yet 
seeking  assurance  that  a  God  so  holy,  and  so  dreadful, 
and  so  infinitely  exalted  above  him,  could  yet  love  him 
and  be  the  object  of  his  love.  Certainly  it  abates 
nothing  of  the  infinite  majesty  or  purity  of  God.  It 
enthrones  him  with  the  full  investment  of  every  high 
and  holy  attribute,  and  yet  nothing  can  exceed  the 
expressions  of  tenderness  and  compassion  with  which 
he  seeks  to  win  the  confidence  of  his  creatures.  He 
is  represented  as  having  an  unspeakable  affection  for 
the  race  of  man ;  as  watching  over  all  in  his  universal 
providence ;  as  the  Father  of  the  fatherless,  and  the 
widow’s  God  and  J udge  ;  as  strengthening  men  upon 
the  bed  of  languishing,  and  making  all  their  bed  in 
their  sickness  ;  as  hearing  the  groan  mgs  of  the  prisoner 
and  the  cry  of  the  poor  and  needy,  when  they  seek 
water  and  there  is  none,  and  their  tongue  faileth  for 
thirst ;  as  the  God  that  hears  the  faintest  whisper  of 
true  prayer ;  as  the  God  upon  whom  we  may  cast  all 
our  cares,  because  he  careth  for  us ;  the  God  who  com- 
forteth  those  that  are  cast  down ;  who  shall  wipe  away 
all  tears  from  all  faces  ;  who  is  more  ready  to  give  to 
man  the  Holy  Spirit  (the  greatest  of  all  gifts)  than 
earthly  parents  are  to  give  good  gifts  to  their  children ; 
who  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  should  not  perish, 
but  have  eternal  life.  If  such  expressions,  and  such  a 
pledge,  do  not  satisfy  men  of  the  love  of  God,  and  lead 
them  to  him,  nothing  can.  Well  might  the  apostle  say. 


142 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


"He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up 
for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us 
all  things  !  ”  Well  might  he  invite  men  to  "  come  boldly 
unto  the  throne  of  grace,”  that  they  may  "obtain  mercy 
and  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need.”  Nothing  can 
be  more  tender  or  winning,  more  calculated  to  secure 
the  confidence  of  men,  more  unspeakably  touching  and 
affecting,  than  the  mode  in  which  God  is  revealed  to  us 
in  the  gospel  of  his  Son. 

Holiness  and  happiness  provided  for.  — -But,  in  thus 
offering  himself  as  the  object  of  affection  to  man,  we 
can  not  fail  to  see  that  God  has  made  provision,  in  the 
very  nature  of  things,  both  for  his  holiness  and  his 
happiness.  It  is  impossible  that  we  should  truly  love 
Him,  without  being  conformed  and  assimilated  to  his 
character.  The  moment  the  first  throb  of  affection  is 
felt,  that  process  must  begin,  spoken  of  by  the  apostle, 
where  he  says,  "We  all,  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the 
glory  of  the  Lord,  are  changed  into  the  same  image 
from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.” 
And  when  this  process  is  once  commenced,  through  the 
operation  of  the  great  principle  that  we  become  morally 
conformed  to  that  which  we  contemplate  with  delight, 
it  will  go  on  to  its  consummation.  Nor,  if  we  can 
contemplate  them  separately,  is  provision  less  made  in 
this  way  for  happiness  than  for  holiness  —  since  the 
happiness  derived  from  the  affections  must  arise  from 
their  exercise,  and  since  the  highest  conceivable  happi¬ 
ness  would  arise  from  the  perfect  love  of  such  a  being 
as  God.  It  is  in  this  way  only  that  God  can  become 
the  portion  of  the  soul ;  and  thus  he  may  become  its 
infinite  and  only  adecpiate  portion.  Let  the  affections 
rest  upon  a  perfect  being,  and  happiness,  so  far  as  it 
can  be  derived  from  them,  will  be  complete;  but 
when  their  object  is  not  only  perfect,  but  infinite  and 
unchangeable,  then  is  there  provision  both  for  perfect 


LOVE  PECULIAR  TO  CHRISTIANITY, 


143 


happiness,  and  for  its  perpetuity  and  augmentation 
forever. 

God  must  be  presented  as  an  object  of  love.  — Here, 
then,  we  find  a  mark  which  must  belong  to  a  religion 
from  God.  From  our  present  knowledge  of  the  facul¬ 
ties  of  man,  and  of  their  relations  to  each  other,  and 
of  the  conditions  on  which  alone  they  can  be  improved 
and  perfected,  we  see  that  a  religion  which  is  to  elevate 
man,  and  make  him  either  holy  or  happy,  must  present 
God  as  the  object  of  love,  and  provide  for  the  assimi¬ 
lation  of  the  character  of  man  to  his  character. 

JSTo  other  religion  does  this.  —  But  what  of  this  love 
do  we  find  provided  for,  or  possible,  out  of  Christianity? 
Absolutely  nothing.  The  love  of  God  never  entered 
as  an  element  into  any  heathen  religion  ;  nor,  with  their 
conceptions  of  God,  was  it  possible  it  should.  The 
affections,  as  already  stated,  are  drawn  forth  by  moral 
excellence,  especially  when  manifested  in  our  behalf. 
Was  it  possible,  then,  on  either  of  these  grounds,  that 
the  Jupiter,  or  Pluto,  or  Bacchus,  of  old,  should  be 
loved ?  Were  their  moral  characters  even  reputable? 
Did  they  ever  make  disinterested  sacrifices  for  the  good 
of  men  ?  Is  it  possible  that  the  present  Hindoos  should 
love,  on  cither  of  these  grounds,  any  being  or  thing 
that  is  presented  for  their  worship  ?  According  to  the 
very  constitution  of  our  minds,  it  is  impossible.  The 
objects  of  worship  are  neither  in  themselves,  nor  in 
their  relations  to  man,  adapted  to  draw  out  the  affec¬ 
tions.  Again,  is  it  possible  that  the  affections  should 
be  strongly  moved  by  the  God  of  the  deist,  who  mani¬ 
fests  himself  only  through  general  laws  that  bring  all 
things  alike  to  all,  who  never  speaks  to  his  creatures, 
or  makes  himself  known  as  the  hearer  of  prayer  ?  I 
think  not.  Who  ever  heard  of  a  devout  deist  ?  Who 
ever  heard  of  one  who  was  willing  to  spend  his  life 
in  missionary  labor  for  the  good  of  others  ?  It  is  not 


144 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


according  to  the  constitution  of  the  mind  that  such  a 
system  should  awaken  the  affections.  And  what  is 
true  of  these  systems  is  true  of  every  false  system. 
All  such  systems  leave  the  heart  cold,  and,  accord¬ 
ingly,  exert  very  little  genuine  transforming  power 
over  the  life. 

Love  made  the  governing  principle.  —  And  this, 
again,  leads  me  to  observe,  thirdly,  that  Christianity  is 
adapted  to  the  affections,  from  the  place  it  assigns  to 
love  as  the  governing  principle  of  action.  Moral  order 
requires  obedience  to  God.  But  what  is  that  obedience 
which  can  honor  God  and  make  him  who  renders  it 
happy?  Plainly,  it  is  not  a  selfish,  external  obedience, 
which  would  be  wicked  ;  not  an  obedience  from  fear,  — 
for  all  ”  fear  hath  torment ; 59  but  it  can  be  only  an 
intelligent  and  an  affectionate  obedience.  Such  an  obe- 
dience  would  honor  God,  and  make  him  who  rendered 
it  happy.  There  is  in  it  no  element  of  degradation  or 
slavish  subjection.  On  the  contrary,  as  the  whole 
intellect,  and  conscience,  and  heart,  conspire  together 
in  such  an  act,  performed  with  reference  to  the  will  of 
such  a  Being,  it  must  elevate  the  mind.  It  is  the  only 
possible  manner  in  which  we  can  conceive  a  rational 
creature  to  act  so  as  to  honor  God,  and  make  himself 
happy ;  and,  therefore,  that  system  of  religion  which  is 
so  constructed,  with  reference  to  the  human  mind,  as 
to  produce  intelligent  and  affectionate  obedience  in  the 
highest  degree,  must  lie  the  true  religion  ;  and  no  other 
is  possible.  Now,  we  certainly  can  see  that  no  heathen 
system  can  produce  such  obedience,  and  that  the  Chris¬ 
tian  system  is  adapted  to  produce  it  in  the  highest 
possible  degree. 

Its  representation  of  a  future  state .  —  But  I  observe, 
once  more,  that  Christianity  is  adapted  to  the  affections 
from  its  representations  of  a  future  state.  It  does 
not,  like  Hindooism,  or  Pantheism,  represent  man  as 


THE  IMAGINATION. 


145 


absorbed  into  the  Deity,  nor,  like  Mohammedanism,  as 
engrossed  in  sensuality ;  but  it  represents  heaven  as  a 
social  state  of  pure  and  holy  affection.  It  does  not, 
indeed,  tell  us  that  we  shall  recognize  there  our  earthly 
kindred,  though  it  leaves  us  no  ground  to  doubt  this  ; 
but  it  tells  us  of  a  Father’s  house,  and  of  the  one  family 
of  the  good  who  shall  be  gathered  there,  and  to  whom 
we  shall  be  united  in  nearer  bonds  than  those  of  earth. 
What  possible  representation  could  be  better  adapted 
to  a  being  endowed  with  affections  ?  —  the  one  infinite 
Father  and  Kedeemer  of  his  creatures,  and  the  united 
family  of  all  the  good  ! 

The  imagination.  —  We  next  proceed  to  the  imagi¬ 
nation.  And  I  observe  that  Christianity  is  no  less 
adapted  to  this  than  to  the  conscience,  the  intellect,  or 
the  affections.  The  imagination  is  a  source  of  enjoy¬ 
ment,  a  spring  of  activity,  and  an  efficient  agent  in 
molding  the  character ;  and  any  system  may  be  said 
to  be  adapted  to  it  which  is  calculated  to  give  it  the 
highest  and  purest  enjoyment,  and  so  to  direct  the 
activity  which  it  excites  as  to  mold  the  character  into 
the  finest  form. 

As  a  source  of  enjoyment.  —  Looking  at  the  imagi¬ 
nation  simply  as  a  source  of  enjoyment,  that  system 
will  be  best  adapted  to  it  which  contains  the  most 
elements  of  beauty  and  sublimity,  and  which  leaves 
for  their  combination  the  widest  range.  And  in  this 
respect,  certainly  nothing  can  exceed  Christianity.  There 
are  no  conceivable  scenes  of  grandeur  equal  to  those 
connected  with  the  general  judgment  and  the  final  con¬ 
flagration  of  this  world  ;  no  scenes  of  beauty  like  those 
connected  with  the  new  Jerusalem  —  with  the  abodes 
and  the  employments  of  those  who  shall  be  sons  and 
heirs  of  God,  and  to  whom  the  whole  creation  will  be 
given,  so  far  as  it  may  be  subservient  to  their  enjoy- 


146 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY, 


ment.  And  if  the  present  scene  is  filled  up  with  so 
much  of  beauty  and  sublimity,  what  imagination  can 
conceive  of  the  splendors  of  that  world  whose  external 
decorations  shall  correspond  with  its  spiritual  glory? 
Let  no  one  say,  then,  that  Christianity  would  repress 
the  imagination ;  or  that  God  did  not  intend  that 
imagination,  and  poetry,  and  the  exertion  of  every 
faculty  which  brings  with  it  what  is  beautiful  and  pleas¬ 
ing,  should  be  connected  with  it.  He  did  intend  it ; 
he  has  made  provision  for  it,  and  that  not  in  this  life 
only.  There  will  be  poetry  in  heaven ;  its  numbers 
will  measure  the  anthems  that  swell  there.  There  will 
be  imagination  there.  This  is  no  impertinent  faculty, 
given,  as  some  seem  to  suppose,  only  to  be  chided  and 
repressed.  No  ;  its  wing,  however  strong,  will  always 
find  room  enough  in  the  illimitable  universe  and  the 
unfathomed  perfections  of  God. 

As  promoting  to  activity .  — But  it  is  chiefly  of  the 
imagination  as  prompting  to  activity  that  I  would 
speak.  "The  faculty  of  imagination,”  says  Stewart, 
"  is  the  great  spring  of  human  activity,  and  the  prin¬ 
cipal  source  of  human  improvement.  As  it  delights 
in  presenting  to  the  mind  scenes  and  characters  more 
perfect  than  those  which  we  are  acquainted  with,  it 
prevents  us  from  ever  being  completely  satisfied  with 
our  present  condition  or  with  our  past  attainments,  and 
engages  us  continually  in  the  pursuit  of  some  untried 
enjoyment,  or  of  some  ideal  excellence.”  Again  he 
says,  "Tired  and  disgusted  with  this  world  of  imper¬ 
fection,  we  delight  to  escape  to  another  of  the  poet’s 
creation,  where  the  charms  of  nature  wear  an  eternal 
bloom,  and  where  sources  of  enjoyment  are  opened  to 
us  suited  to  the  vast  capacities  of  the  human  mind. 
On  this  natural  love  of  poetical  fiction  Lord  Bacon 
has  founded  a  very  ingenious  argument  for  the  soul’s 
immortality ;  and,  indeed,  one  of  the  most  important 


IMAGINATION  AND  REALITY. 


147 


purposes  to  which  it  is  subservient  is  to  elevate  the 
mind  above  the  pursuits  of  our  present  condition,  and 
to  direct  the  views  to  higher  objects.”* 

With  this  representation  of  the  office  and  importance 
of  this  faculty  I  agree  in  the  main ;  but,  instead  of  a 
world  of  the  poet’s  creation  for  it  to  range  in,  I  would 
have  one  of  God’s  creation.  Certainly  we  can,  by 
means  of  this  faculty,  form  to  ourselves  models  of 
individual  excellence,  and  of  what  we  may  conceive  to 
be  a  perfect  state  of  things,  which  shall  essentially 
guide  our  activity  and  affect  our  character  and  influence. 
But  here,  no  less  than  in  the  intellect,  does  all  experi¬ 
ence  show  that  we  need  to  find  the  thought  of  God  as 
a  model  and  guide  to  this  formative  power.  Left  to 
itself,  how  many  false  standards  of  character  has  it  set 
up  !  How  many  Utopian  schemes  has  it  originated ! 
How  little  has  it  ever  conceived  of  individual  excel¬ 
lence,  or  of  an  ultimate  and  perfect  state  of  things, 
worthy  of  God  or  having  a  tendency  to  exalt  man ! 
Witness  the  heathen  gods  and  representations  of 
heaven ;  the  classic  fables ;  the  speculations  of  Plato, 
even,  respecting  a  future  state  ;  the  Hindoo  mythology, 
and  transmigration ;  and  the  Mohammedan  paradise. 
These  are  to  that  future,  and  to  that  heaven  which  God 
has  revealed,  what  the  conjectures  and  systems  of 
ancient  astronomers  were  to  the  true  system  of  the 
physical  heavens.  Not  more  do  the  heavens  of  true 
science  exceed  those  imagined  by  man, — not  more 
does  the  actual  Milky  Way,  composed  of  a  stratum  of 
suns  lying  rank  above  rank,  exceed  that  conception  of 
it  from  which  its  name  is  derived,  —  than  the  glory  of 
the  millennial  day,  and  the  purity  and  grandeur  of  the 
Christian  heaven,  exceed  any  future  ever  imagined  by 
man,  and  adopted  as  the  basis  of  a  religion  invented 
by  him.  In  both  cases,  in  the  moral  no  less  than  in  the 


*  Elements,  vol.  i.  chap.  7. 


148 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY . 


physical  heavens,  we  need  to  have  given  ns  the  outline 
as  sketched  by  God,  and  then  it  is  the  noblest  work  of 
the  imagination  to  till  it  up. 

Ideal  excellence.  —  Christianity  alone  furnishes  the 
model  of  a  perfect  manhood,  and  the  true  elements  of 
social  perfection ;  it  alone  furnishes  to  the  imagination 
a  representation  of  a  perfect  state  on  earth ;  and  it 
unfolds  the  gates  of  a  heaven,  at  whose  entrance  it  can 
only  stand  and  exclaim,  "Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear 
heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the 
things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love 
him  !  ”  It  is  therefore  perfectly  adapted  to  the  imagi¬ 
nation,  so  far  as  that  is  a  faculty  which  leads  to  activity 
by  setting  before  us  ideal  excellence  which  we  may 
attempt  to  realize  in  actual  life. 

How  attained. — Before  leaving  this  point,  I  may 
just  say  that  Christianity  does  not,  like  systems  of 
philosophy,  present  us  with  an  ideal  excellence  without 
showing  us  how  to  attain  it.  The  obedience  of  its 
precepts  would  realize  the  excellence  it  portrays ;  and 
it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  thus,  and  thus  only,  can 
there  be  brought  out,  into  the  bold  relief  of  actual  life, 
the  visions  of  those  ancient  prophets  whose  imagina¬ 
tions  were  fired  by  these  scenes  of  grandeur  and  of 
beauty. 

The  conscience.  —  The  excellence  above  spoken  of 
could  be  realized  only  by  obedience,  under  the  guid¬ 
ance  of  an  enlightened  conscience.  Is,  then,  Chris¬ 
tianity  adapted  to  quicken  and  exalt  the  action  of  the 
conscience  ? 

Force  of  the  argument.  —  This  is  a  point  of  the  first 
importance  ;  for  if  it  can  be  shown  that  the  moral  powers 
are  quickened  and  perfected  in  proportion  as  the  mind 
comes  under  the  action  of  any  system,  that  system 
must  be  from  God.  That  a  false  system  should  tend 
to  perfect  the  conscience  in  its  discriminating,  and 


THE  CONSCIENCE. 


149 


impulsive,  and  rewarding,  and  punishing  power,  would 
be  not  only  impossible,  but  suicidal.  It  would  purge 
the  eye  to  a  quicker  perception  of  its  own  deformities, 
and  nerve  the  arm  for  its  own  overthrow.  Other  sys¬ 
tems  act  upon  men  through  prescription,  through  awe 
and  reverence,  through  hope  and  fear,  and  not  by  com¬ 
mending  themselves,  as  righteous,  to  every  man’s  con¬ 
science,  in  the  sight  of  God. 

Provides  a  perfect  standard. — But  Christianity  pro¬ 
vides  for  quickening  the  conscience,  first,  by  the  perfect 
standard  which  it  sets  up.  This  is  found  in  the  char¬ 
acter  and  law  of  God.  In  training  the  conscience, 
nothing  can  countervail  the  absence  of  a  right  standard. 
In  every  community,  the  tendency  is  to  try  actions  by 
the  public  sentiment,  the  usages  and  customs  of  that 
community.  These  will  vary  according  to  the  supposed 
interests  of  each ;  and  in  the  use  of  such  tests,  con¬ 
science  must  remain  in  abeyance,  and  become  dwarfed. 
It  can  be  trained  and  perfected  only  by  a  full  activity, 
in  the  light  of  a  perfect  law ;  and  this  is  furnished  by 
Christianity. 

Doctrine  of  responsibility .  —  Secondly,  Christianity 
is  adapted  to  the  conscience  by  its  doctrine  of  respon¬ 
sibility.  Than  this,  nothing  can  be  more  entire.  As 
was  said  in  the  second  lecture,  the  moral  law,  which 
Christianity  imbosoms,  is  as  universal  and  pervading 
as  that  of  gravitation.  Under  it  there  can  be  no  con¬ 
cealment,  or  evasion ;  for  it  reveals  a  future  judgment, 
and  an  omniscient  and  righteous  Judge.  This  must 
tend  to  a  careful  scrutiny  of  all  moral  acts,  and  so  to 
the  full  activity  and  perfection  of  the  conscience. 

Sanctions  and  pardon.  —  Thirdly,  Christianity  is 
adapted  to  the  conscience,  on  the  one  hand  by  the 
force  of  its  sanctions,  and  on  the  other  by  its  provision 
for  pardon.  These  are  brought  together  as  equally 
manifesting  that  which  is  the  central  element  of  Chris- 

K 


150 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


tianity,  and  the  source  of  its  power  over  the  moral 
nature.  This  is  its  intense  regard  for  the  moral  quality 
of  action.  This  being  the  centre  and  life  of  the  sys¬ 
tem,  it  can  not  fail  to  give  life. 

Only  needs  to  be  applied.  —  It  is  thus  that  Chris¬ 
tianity  does  all  that  we  can  conceive  any  system  should 
do,  to  quicken  and  to  perfect  the  powers  of  moral  per¬ 
ception  and  of  action.  The  adjustments  of  the  system 
are  made ;  they  are  perfect ;  it  only  needs  to  be  ap¬ 
plied.  Accordingly,  we  find  that  an  efficient  and  an 
enlightened  conscience  exists  just  in  proportion  to  the 
prevalence  of  pure  Christianity ;  and  Ave  must  see  that 
its  full  influence  would  banish  moral  evil  as  the  sun 
disperses  the  darkness.  It  is  by  the  light  and  strength 
drawn  from  Christianity  itself  that  we  are  able  to  apply 
many  of  those  tests  which  we  now  apply  in  judging  of 
it ;  and  the  more  fully  we  are  under  its  influence,  the 
more  competent  shall  we  be  to  apply  such  tests,  and 
the  more  convincing  will  be  the  evidence  derived  from 
their  application. 

The  ivill.  —  Two  modes  of  adaptation.  —  It  now  only 
remains  to  speak  of  Christianity  as  adapted  to  the  will. 
A  system  may  be  adapted  to  the  will  of  man  by  flatter¬ 
ing  his  pride,  by  taking  advantage  of  his  weaknesses, 
by  indulging  his  corruptions  ;  and  in  this  sense  false 
systems  have  been  adapted  to  it  with  great  skill.  But, 
properly  speaking,  a  system  is  adapted  to  the  will  of  a 
rational  and  moral  being  when  it  is  so  constructed  that 
it  must  necessarily  control  the  will  in  proportion  as 
reason  and  conscience  prevail.  This  is  a  point  of  high 
importance,  because,  the  will  being  that  in  man  which 
is  personal  and  executive,  nothing  is  effected  till  this  is 
reached ;  and  the  system  which  can  not  legitimately 
control  this  may  have  every  other  adaptation,  and  yet 
be  good  for  nothing. 


THE  WILL. 


151 


Provides  for  pardon  and  aid .  —  I  observe,  then, 
first,  that  Christianity  is  adapted  to  the  will  because  it 
provides  for  the  pardon  of  sin,  and  for  divine  aid  in 
the  great  struggle  in  which  it  calls  upon  us  to  engage. 
I  remarked,  when  speaking  of  the  intellect,  that  Chris¬ 
tianity  was  adapted  to  it  because  it  relieved  it  from  the 
incubus  of  vice.  It  is  much  in  the  same  way  that  it 
acts  here  in  reference  to  the  will.  The  will  of  man 
never  acts  when  the  attainment  of  his  object  is  abso¬ 
lutely  hopeless ;  and  a  sense  of  pardoned  sin,  and  a 
hope  of  divine  aid,  if  not  immediate  motives,  yet  come 
in  as  conditions  on  which  alone  the  will  can  be  brought 
up  to  the  great  struggle  of  the  Christian  warfare.  With¬ 
out  these,  a  mind  truly  enlightened  would  rest  under  a 
discouragement  that  would  forever  paralyze  effort. 

Adapted  to  the  affections.  — I  observe,  secondly,  that 
Christianity  is  adapted  to  the  will  because  it  is  adapted 
to  the  affections.  I  do  not,  as  some  have  done,  regard 
the  will  and  the  affections  as  the  same.  They  are,  how¬ 
ever,  intimately  connected  ;  and  the  affections  being, 
as  I  have  said,  the  only  source  of  disinterested  action 
and  of  happy  moral  obedience,  it  is  evident  that,  just 
in  proportion  as  any  system  takes  a  strong  hold  of 
them,  it  must  be  adapted  to  move  the  will.  It  is  not 
enough  to  know  our  duty,  and  to  wish  to  do  it  simply 
as  duty.  We  need  to  have  it  associated  with  the  im¬ 
pulses  of  the  affections,  with  that  love  of  God,  and  of 
man,  implanted  in  the  heart,  which  are  the  first  and  the 
second  great  moral  precepts  of  Christianity,  and  which, 
where  they  reign,  must  induce  a  happy  obedience. 

Because  of  its  sanctions. — I  observe,  thirdly,  that 
Christianity  is  adapted  to  the  will  from  the  grandeur 
of  those  interests  which  it  presents,  and  from  Its 
amazing  sanctions.  Here  it  is  unrivaled.  Here  every 
thing  takes  hold  on  infinity  and  eternity.  Here  the 
greatness  of  man  as  a  spiritual  and  an  immortal  being 


152 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


assumes  its  proper  place,  and  throws  into  the  shade  all 
the  motives  and  the  interests  of  time.  Its  language  is, 
"What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole 
world,  and  lose  his  own  soul ;  or  what  shall  a  man  give 
in  exchange  for  his  soul?”  It  makes  the  will  of  God 
our  rule  ;  it  places  us  under  his  omniscient  eye ;  it 
points  us  forward  to  the  tribunal  of  an  omnipotent  Judge, 
to  a  sentence  of  unmixed  justice,  and  a  reward  of  match¬ 
less  grace.  Nothing  can  be  more  alluring,  on  the  one 
hand,  or  more  terrific,  on  the  other,  than  its  descrip¬ 
tions  of  the  consequences  of  human  conduct.  It  speaks 
of  "  eternal  life ;  ”  of  being  the  "  sons  and  heirs  of 
God  ;  ”  of  a  "  crown  of  life  ;  ”  of  "  an  inheritance  incor¬ 
ruptible,  and  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away.” 
It  speaks,  also,  of  "  the  blackness  of  darkness  forever  ;  ” 
of  "the  worm  that  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  that  is  not 
quenched.”  Laying  aside,  then,  the  affections,  and  look¬ 
ing  solely  at  the  direct  motives  of  duty  and  of  interest 
which  it  presents,  surely  no  other  system  can  be  so  adapt¬ 
ed  to  move  the  will  as  this,  when  it  is  really  believed. 

Teachings  not  abstract. — I  observe,  finally,  that 
Christianity  is  adapted  to  the  will,  and  to  the  whole 
emotive  nature  of  man,  because  its  teachings  respect¬ 
ing  the  character  of  God  and  human  duty  are  not  by 
general  and  abstract  propositions,  but  by  facts,  and  by 
manifestations  in  action.  At  this  point  Christianity  is 
strongly  contrasted  with  natural  religion,  and  with 
every  thing  that  tends  towards  pantheism.  "It  is 
indeed,” says  Erskine,  "a  striking,  and  yet  an  undoubt¬ 
ed  fact,  that  we  are  comparatively  little  affected  with 
abstract  truths  in  morality.”  "A  single  definite  and 
intelligible  action  gives  a  vividness  and  a  power  to  the 
idea  of  that  moral  character  which  it  exhibits,  beyond 
what  could  be  conveyed  by  a  multitude  of  abstract 
descriptions.  Thus  the  abstract  ideas  of  patriotism 
and  integrity  make  but  an  uninteresting  appearance 


THE  WILL  AND  ABSTRACT  PRINCIPLES. 


153 


when  contrasted  with  the  high  spectacle  of  heroic 
worth  which  was  exhibited  in  the  conduct  of  Rep-ulus, 
when,  in  the  senate  of  his  country,  he  raised  his  soli¬ 
tary  voice  against  those  humbling  propositions  of 
Carthage,  which,  if  acquiesced  in,  would  have  restored 
him  to  liberty,  and  which  for  that  single  reason  had 
almost  gained  an  acquiescence ;  and  then,  unsubdued 
alike  by  the  frantic  entreaties  of  his  family,  the  weep¬ 
ing  solicitations  of  the  admiring  citizens,  and  the 
appalling  terrors  of  his  threatened  fate,  he  returned  to 
Africa,  rather  than  violate  his  duty  to  Rome  and  the 
sacredness  of  truth.”  "In  the  same  way,  the  abstract 
views  of  the  divine  character,  drawn  from  the  observa¬ 
tion  of  nature,  are,  in  general,  rather  visions  of  the 
intellect  than  efficient  moral  principles  in  the  heart  and 
conduct;  and,  liovmver  true  they  may  be,  are  uninter¬ 
esting  and  unexciting  when  compared  with  the  vivid 
exhibition  of  them  in  a  history  of  definite  and  intelli¬ 
gible  action.  To  assist  our  weakness,  therefore,  and 
to  accommodate  his  instructions  to  the  principles  of 
our  nature,  God  has  been  pleased  to  present  us  a  most 
interesting  series  of  actions,  in  wffiich  his  moral  char¬ 
acter,  as  far  as  vre  are  concerned,  is  fully  and  perspic¬ 
uously  embodied.” 

So  great  is  this  difference,  as  ideas  are  presented  in 
different  modes,  that  an  idea  or  a  principle  may  be 
apparently  received,  and  approved,  in  its  abstract 
form,  which  shall  not  be  recognized  as  the  same  when 
it  takes  the  form  of  action.  "  A  corrupt  politician,  for 
instance,  can  speculate  on  and  applaud  the  abstract 
idea  of  integrity  ;  but  when  this  abstract  idea  takes  the 
form  of  a  man  and  a  course  of  action,  it  ceases  to  be 
that  harmless  and  welcome  visitor  it  used  to  be,  and 
draws  on  itself  the  decided  enmity  of  its  former  appar¬ 
ent  friend.”  "  In  the  same  way,  many  men  will  admit 
the  abstract  idea  of  a  God  of  infinite  holiness  and  good- 


154 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


ness,  and  will  even  take  delight  in  exercising  their 
reason  or  their  taste  in  speculating  on  the  subject  of 
his  being  and  attributes ;  yet  these  same  persons  will 
shrink  with  dislike  and  alarm  from  the  living  energy 
which  this  abstract  idea  assumes  in  the  Bible.”  *  The 
great  object  of  Erskine  is  to  show,  first,  that  there  is 
this  difference  between  ideas  thus  presented ;  and, 
secondly,  that  God  has  made  in  action  such  mani¬ 
festations  of  himself  as  must,  if  they  are  believed, 
bring  the  character  into  conformity  with  his.  Whatever 
we  may  think  of  the  second  proposition,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  of  the  principle  involved  in  the  first ;  nor  of 
the  fact  that  the  emotive  nature  of  man  is  addressed,  in 
accordance  with  it,  both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in 
the  New.  All  that  series  of  mighty  acts  which  God 
performed  in  behalf  of  the  Israelites  —  the  deliverance 
from  Egypt,  the  giving  of  the  law,  the  passage  through 
the  wilderness  and  through  Jordan  —  could  not  but 
affect  their  hearts  and  wills  infinitely  more  than  they 
could  have  been  by  any  description  of  God,  or  by  any 
mere  precepts.  Probably  it  was  better  adapted  than 
any  thing  else  could  have  been  to  give  that  people  cor¬ 
rect  ideas  of  God,  and  to  lead  them  to  a  full  and  joyful 
obedience  of  his  commandments.  And  so  the  great 
fact  of  the  New  Testament,  that  "God  so  loved  the 
world,  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,”  and  the 
example  of  our  Saviour,  "  who  loved  us  and  gave  himself 
for  us,”  have  ever  been  among  its  most  powerful  and 
constraining  motives.  They  have,  in  fact,  been  those 
without  which  no  others  would  have  been  of  any  avail. 

Whether,  then,  we  consider  its  offers  of  pardon  and 
of  aid ;  its  connection  with  the  affections ;  the  power 
of  its  direct  motives ;  or  its  mode  of  appeal  by  facts 
and  manifestations  in  action,  —  we  see  that  Christianity 
is  perfectly  adapted  to  the  will  of  man. 


*  Internal  Evidence. 


LECTURE  VI. 


ARGUMENT  FIFTH,  CONTINUED.  DIVISION  SECOND :  CHRISTIAN¬ 
ITY  AS  A  RESTRAINING  POWER.  —  ARGUMENT  SIXTH:  THE 
EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  —  ARGUMENT 
SEVENTH  :  ITS  FITNESS  AND  TENDENCY  TO  BECOME  UNIVER¬ 
SAL.  —  ARGUMENT  EIGHTH:  IT  HAS  ALWAYS  BEEN  IN  THE 
WORLD. 

Man  is  a  complex  being.  He  has  been  called  the 
microcosm,  or  little  world,  because,  while  he  has  a 
distinctive  nature  of  his  own,  he  is  a  partaker  and  rep¬ 
resentative  of  every  thing  in  the  inferior  creation.  In 
him  are  united  the  material  and  the  spiritual,  the  ani¬ 
mal  and  the  rational.  He  has  instincts,  propensities, 
desires,  passions,  by  which  he  is  allied  to  the  animals ; 
he  has  also  reason,  conscience,  free-will,  by  which  he  is 
allied  to  higher  intelligences  and  to  God.  Hence  the 
ends  he  is  capable  of  choosing,  and  the  principles  by 
which  he  may  be  actuated,  are  very  various.  Body  and 
soul,  reason  and  passion,  conscience  and  desire,  often 
seem  to  be,  and  are,  opposing  forces,  and  man  is  left 


“  In  doubt  to  act  or  rest, 

In  doubt  to  deem  himself  a  god  or  beast, 
In  doubt  his  soul  or  body  to  prefer.” 


"The  intestine  war  of  reason  against  the  passions/ 
says  Pascal,  "has  given  rise,  among  those  who  wish  for 
peace,  to  the  formation  of  two  different  sects.  The 

(155) 


f 


156 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


one  wished  to  renounce  the  passions,  and  he  as  gods-, 
the  other  to  renounce  reason,  and  become  beasts.” 

Excitement ,  guidance ,  restraint  —  difficulty  of.  — 
With  this  wide  range  of  faculties,  and  consequent  variety 
of  impulses  and  motives,  in  the  individual,  and  especially 
when  we  consider  the  variety  of  his  social  relations, 
wre  may  well  say  that,  if  any  problem  was  beyond 
human  skill,  it  Avas  the  choice  of  ends,  and  the  arrange¬ 
ment  of  means  and  motives, — the  contrivance  of  a 
system  of  excitement,  and  guidance,  and  restraint,  — 
which  should  harmonize  these  jarring  elements,  and 
cause  every  Avheel  in  the  vast  machinery  of  human 
society  to  move  freely  and  without  interference.  Ac¬ 
cordingly,  Avhether  Ave  look  at  the  faculties  excited,  or 
at  the  ends  to  Avhich  they  have  been  directed,  or  at  the 
restraints  imposed,  Ave  find  in  all  human  systems  a  great 
want  of  adaptation  to  the  nature  of  man.  Excitement , 
guidance ,  restraint ,  —  these  are  what  man  needs;  and 
a  system  which  should  so  combine  them  as  to  lead  him, 
in  its  legitimate  influence,  to  his  true  perfection  and 
end,  would  he  adapted  to  his  whole  nature.  I  have 
already  spoken  of  the  poAver  of  Christianity  to  excite 
and  to  guide  some  of  the  principal  faculties.  I  now 
proceed  to  make  some  observations  upon  it  as  a  re¬ 
straining  power. 

JVo  natural  principle  to  be  eradicated.  —  There  is  no 
natural  principle  of  action  which  requires  to  be  eradi¬ 
cated,  but  there  are  many  Avhich  require  to  be  directed, 
subordinated,  and  restrained.  There  are  principles  of 
our  nature,  Avhich  conduce  only  to  our  Avell-being  Avhen 
acting  within  prescribed  limits,  which  become  the  source 
of  vice  and  AAnretchedness  Avhen  those  limits  are  over¬ 
stepped.  But  to  put  the  check  upon  each  particular 
Avheel,  precisely  at  the  point  at  which  its  motion  Avould 
become  too  rapid  for  the  movement  of  the  Avhole,  re¬ 
quires  a  skill  beyond  that  of  man. 


LIMITS  OF  RESTRAINT. 


157 


The  appetites  —  too  much  or  too  little  restraint. — To 
fix,  for  example,  the  limits  within  which,  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  individual  and  of  society,  the  appetites 
should  be  restrained,  requires  a  knowledge  of  the  human 
frame,  and  of  the  relations  of  society,  which  no  philos¬ 
opher,  unenlightened  by  the  Bible,  has  ever  shown.  I 
need  not  say  how  essential  it  is  to  the  well-being  of  any 
community  that  these  limits  should  be  rightly  fixed. 
If  there  is  too  much  restraint,  society  becomes  secretly, 
and  often  hopelessly,  corrupt ;  to  other  sins  the  guilt 
of  hypocrisy  is  added,  and  sanctimonious  licentious¬ 
ness  —  the  most  odious  of  all  its  forms  —  becomes 
common.  If  there  is  too  little  restraint,  vice  walks 
abroad  with  an  unblushing  front,  and  glories  in  its 
shame.  The  state  of  the  ancient  heathen  world  is 
described  by  the  apostle  in  the  first  of  Romans.  The 
accuracy  of  that  description  is  remarkably  confirmed 
by  testimony  from  heathen  writers,  and,  according  to 
the  testimony  of  all  impartial  travelers,  that  chapter  is 
true,  to  the  letter,  of  the  heathen  of  the  present  day. 
The  tendency  of  human  nature  to  sensuality,  in  some 
form,  is  so  strong  that  no  false  religion  has  ever  dared 
to  lay  its  hand  upon  it,  in  all  its  forms.  Mohammed, 
it  is  well  known,  did  not  interfere  essentially  with  the 
customs  of  his  country  in  this  respect ;  and,  in  fact,  all 
his  rewards  and  motives  to  religious  activity  were  based 
on  an  appeal  to  the  sensitive,  and  not  to  the  rational 
and  spiritual  part  of  man.  In  instances  not  a  few,  the 
grossest  sensuality  has  been  made  a  part  of  religion ; 
and,  in  almost  all  cases,  the  voluptuary  has  been  suffered 
to  remain  undisturbed,  or  has  been  led  to  commute,  by 
offerings,  for  indulgence  in  vice. 

Ascetic  tendency .  —  Those,  on  the  other  hand,  who 
have  recognized  the  higher  nature  of  man,  and  have 
felt  that  there  was  something  noble  in  the  subjugation 
of  the  animal  part  of  the  frame,  have  been  excessive. 


158 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Instead  of  regulating  the  appetites,  they  have  attempted 
to  exterminate  them ;  and  the  mass  of  their  follow¬ 
ers  have  been  ambitious,  corrupt,  and  hypocritical. 
"Nothing,”  says  Isaac  Taylor,  "has  been  more  constant 
in  the  history  of  the  human  mind,  wherever  the  religious 
emotions  have  gained  a  supremacy  over  the  sensual  and 
sordid  passions,  than  the  breaking  out  of  the  ascetic 
temper,  in  some  of  its  forms ;  and  most  often  in  that 
which  disguises  virtue,  now  as  a  spectre,  now  as  a 
maniac,  now  as  a  mendicant,  now  as  a  slave,  but  never 
as  the  bright  daughter  of  heaven.”* 

Sensuality  and  self-torture.  — But  not  only  have  men 
framed  systems  of  religion  which  allowed  of  sensual¬ 
ity,  —  not  only  have  they  attempted  to  subdue  the 
animal  nature  altogether,  —  they  have  also  ingrafted 
sensuality  upon  self-torture.  There  is  in  man  a  sense 
of  guilt ;  and,  connected  with  this,  the  idea  has  been 
almost  universal  that  suffering,  or  personal  sacrifice, 
had,  in  some  way,  an  efficacy  to  make  atonement  for  it. 
Hence  the  costly  offerings  of  heathen  nations  to  their 
gods ;  hence  their  bloody  rites,  the  offering  up  of 
human  victims,  and  even  of  their  own  children.  But 
when  once  the  principle  was  established  that  personal 
suffering  could  do  away  sin,  then  a  door  was  opened 
for  license  to  sin ;  and  hence  the  monstrous,  and  ap¬ 
parently  inconsistent  spectacle,  so  often  witnessed,  of 
sensuality  walking  hand  in  hand  with  self-torture. 

The  Christian  method.  —  In  opposition  to  these  cor¬ 
ruptions  and  distortions,  how  simple,  how  clearly  in 
accordance  with  the  original  institutions  and  the  evident 
intentions  of  God,  are  the  principles  of  Christianity  ! 
Christ  assumed  no  sanctity  in  indifferent  things,  such 
as  that  by  which  the  Pharisees  sought  to  distinguish 
themselves.  He  swept  away,  without  hesitation  or 
compromise,  the  rabbinical  superstitions  and  slavish 


*  Lectures  on  Spiritual  Christianity. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  METHOD. 


159 


exactions  which  had  been  ingrafted  on  the  Jewish  law. 
He  came  "  eating  and  drinking.”  He  declared  that  that 
which  entereth  into  a  man  doth  not  defile  him.  He 
sanctioned  marriage,  and  gave  it  an  honor  and  a  sacred¬ 
ness  little  known  before,  by  declaring  it  an  institution 
of  divine  origin,  which  was  appointed  in  the  beginning. 
"  The  superiority  of  the  soul  to  the  body  was  the  very 
purport  of  his  doctrine ;  and  yet  he  did  not  waste  the 
body  by  any  austerities  !  The  duty  of  self-denial  he 
perpetually  enforced  ;  and  yet  he  practiced  no  factitious 
mortifications  !  This  teacher,  not  of  abstinence,  but  of 
virtue,  —  this  reprover,  not  of  enjoyment,  but  of  vice,  — 
himself  went  in  and  out,  among  the  social  amenities 
of  ordinary  life,  with  so  unsolicitous  a  freedom  as  to 
give  color  to  the  malice  of  hypocrisy  in  pointing  the 
finger  at  him,  saying,  'Behold  a  gluttonous  man  and 
a  wine-bibber ;  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners  !  ’  ”  * 
But,  while  he  did  this,  he  did  not  yield  at  all  to  the 
prejudices  and  vices  of  the  age,  but  forbade  all  impu¬ 
rity,  even  in  thought.  The  teaching  and  course  of  the 
apostles  was  marked  by  the  same  wisdom.  Paul  asserts, 
in  relation  to  meats,  that  every  creature  of  God  is  good, 
and  to  be  received  with  thanksgiving  ;  and  says  of  mar¬ 
riage,  that  it  is  honorable  in  all ;  while,  at  the  same 
time,  he  ranks  drunkenness,  and  gluttony,  and  impurity, 
among  those  sins  which  will  exclude  a  man  from  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  He  was  a  preacher  of  temperance, 
as  well  as  of  righteousness  and  of  a  judgment  to  come, 
and  insisted  upon  that  temperance  in  all  things. 

Malevolent  and  selfish  passions.  — Nor  are  the  prohi¬ 
bitions  and  restraints  of  Christianity  laid  with  less 
discrimination  upon  the  malevolent  and  selfish  passions, 
—  as  anger,  malice,  envy,  revenge,  of  the  first;  and 
vanity,  pride,  and  ambition,  of  the  second.  These, 
with  the  exception  of  anger,  it  absolutely  prohibits ; 


*  Lectures  on  Spiritual  Christianity. 


160 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


and  it  prohibits  that,  so  far  as  it  is  malevolent.  It 
distinguishes  between  the  holy  indignation  which  must 
be  excited  by  wickedness,  and  any  mere  personal  feel¬ 
ing,  or  desire  to  inflict  pain  for  its  own  sake  ;  and  hence 
it  speaks  of  Christ  as  looking  on  men  "  with  anger, 
being  grieved  for  the  hardness  of  their  hearts,”  and  it 
commands  us  to  "be  angry  and  sin  not.” 

To  be prohibited. — Of  the  propriety  of  an  absolute 
prohibition  of  the  malevolent  feelings,  probably  few 
at  this  day  will  doubt.  They  are  dissocial,  and  are 
destructive  alike  of  the  happiness  of  him  who  indulges 
them  and  of  those  against  whom  they  are  indulged.  It 
is  impossible  that  a  man,  in  whose  breast  they  bear 
sway,  should  be  happy ;  and,  so  far  as  their  influence 
extends  to  others,  they  produce  unhappiness  of  course. 
Te  can  not  conceive  of  them  as  entering  heaven,  which 
would  no  longer  be  heaven  if  they  were  there,  nor  of 
their  having  a  place  in  a  perfect  society  on  earth. 

Nor,  if  we  analyze  them  fairly,  can  there  be  more 
room  to  doubt  the  propriety  of  prohibiting  what  I  have 
called  the  selfish  passions  —  as  vanity,  pride,  and  ambi¬ 
tion.  Vanity,  notwithstanding  the  commendation  of  it 
by  Hume  as  a  virtue,  will  be  condemned  by  all  as 
weak,  if  not  wicked;  and  if  we  regard  pride  and 
ambition  as  the  love  of  superiority  for  its  own  sake, 
and  of  ruling  over  others,  we  must  see  that  they  are 
both  selfish  and  mischievous.  By  confounding  pride 
with  true  dignity,  and  ambition  with  the  love  of  excel¬ 
lence,  some  have  been  led  to  suppose  that  these  were 
necessary  elements  in  an  efficient  and  elevated  character. 
But  Christianity  fully  recognizes  the  distinction  between 
these  qualities ;  and  while  it  asserts,  far  beyond  any 
other  system,  the  true  dignity  of  man, — while  it  sets 
before  him  the  pursuit  of  an  excellence,  and  the  objects 
of  an  ambition,  which  must  call  forth  every  energy, 
though  their  attainment  implies  no  inferiority  on  the 


DESIRE  OF  PROPERTY. 


161 


part  of  others,  —  it  prohibits,  and,  by  its  doctrines  and 
very  structure,  eradicates  every  selfish  element  of  what 
are  usually  called  pride  and  ambition.  It  is,  indeed,  a 
great  distinction  and  glory  of  Christianity,  that  its 
objects  of  pursuit  and  its  sources  of  enjoyment  are  like 
the  sunlight  and  the  air,  which  are  free  to  all ;  and  that 
the  highest  attainments  of  one  have  no  tendency  to 
diminish  the  happiness  of  others. 

The  desire  of  property. — I  mention  another  strong 
principle  of  action  —  the  desire  of  property,  which 
Christianity  regulates  wisely.  Recognizing  the  inade¬ 
quacy  of  property  to  meet  the  wants  of  a  spiritual 
being,  it  prohibits  covetousness  as  idolatry,  and  exhorts 
the  rich  not  to  trust  in  uncertain  riches,  but  in  the 
living  God.  At  the  same  time  it  forbids  indolence, 
requiring  industry  and  frugality ;  and  when,  by  means 
of  these,  or  by  any  other  means,  property  is  acquired, 
it  commands  us  to  do  good,  to  be  "ready  to  distribute, 
willing  to  communicate.”  He  that  stole  is  to  steal  no 
more,  but  is  to  labor,  working  with  his  hands,  that  he 
may  have  to  give  to  him  that  needeth.  Thus  would 
Christianity  transform  every  lazy,  thievish  pest  of  soci¬ 
ety  into  an  industrious,  useful,  and  liberal  man.  It  is 
also  worthy  of  remark  how  careful  Christianity  is  to 
guard  its  ministers  against  the  love  of  money,  and  how 
entirely  free  it  is,  as  we  find  it  in  the  New  Testament, 
from  holding  out  any  inducement  to  the  people  to  build 
up  rich  and  pompous  religious  establishments.  Its 
ministers  are  to  take  the  oversight  of  the  flock,  not  for 
filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mind.  In  instructing  both 
Timothy  and  Titus  whom  to  ordain,  Paul  mentions  the 
love  of  "filthy  lucre”  as  a  disqualification.  And  while 
such  a  motive  on  the  part  of  the  minister  is  prohibited, 
and  would  be  contrary  to  the  entire  spirit  of  Chris¬ 
tianity,  it  never  speaks  of  the  giving  of  money  to  him 
as  peculiarly  meritorious.  It  provides  for  his  support. 


162 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


and  makes  provision  for  that,  simply,  a  common  duty. 
Its  exhortations  would  all  lead  men  to  works  of  general 
beneficence, — to  give  to  him  that  needeth ,  whoever  he 
may  be,  —  and  would  thus  cause  money  to  become  a 
means  of  spiritual  culture  to  him  who  has  it,  as  well  as 
of  blessing  to  him  to  whom  it  is  given. 

Three  remarks.  —  Prohibitions  on  the  source  of  acts.  — 
I  need  not  speak  further  of  the  particular  things  which 
Christianity  prohibits  and  regulates.  Respecting  them 
all,  three  remarks,  of  much  importance,  are  to  be  made. 
The  first  is,  that  these  prohibitions  are  laid,  not  upon 
the  outward  act,  but,  in  all  cases,  upon  the  spirit  or 
temper  from  which  outward  acts  spring.  Nothing  can 
be  more  evident  than  that  Christianity  legislates  for 
man  as  a  spiritual  being,  and  the  subject  of  a  kingdom 
in  which  every  secret  thought  is  known,  and  every 
malicious,  and  covetous,  and  impure  desire  is  a  crime. 
This  has  often  been  mentioned  as  a  proof  of  the  wis¬ 
dom  and  superiority  of  the  Christian  system  of  morals, 
because  the  only  possible  way  of  regulating  the  external 
act  is  to  regulate  the  spirit.  But,  however  wise  and 
necessary  this  might  be  in  a  system  of  morals,  it  was 
not  adopted  by  Christianity  as  a  sjTstem  of  morals,  but 
because  it  recognizes  man  as  a  member  of  a  spiritual 
kingdom,  in  which  volition  itself  is  action,  and  char¬ 
acter  itself,  and  not  its  outward  manifestation,  is  the 
object  of  legislation.  It  is  fill*  enough  from  striking  at 
the  principle  of  wickedness  because  this  is  necessary  to 
restrain  the  outward  act ;  but  because  it  deals  with 
realities,  and  not  with  appearances,  and  is  at  war  with 
wickedness  itself,  which  has  no  existence  in  act  as 
distinguished  from  its  principle. 

A  religion  of  principles .  —  The  second  remark,  inti¬ 
mately  connected  with  the  first,  is,  that  Christianity, 
considered  as  prohibitory,  is  not  a  religion  of  mere 
precepts,  but  of  principles.  "The  New  Testament,” 


NO  MERE  PROHIBITION 


163 


says  Taylor,  "  contains  vital  principles ;  not  always 
defined ;  but  which,  as  they  are  evolved  one  after 
another,  and  are  successively  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
opinions  and  manners  of  Christianized  nations,  do 
actually  remove  from  them  those  flagrant  evils  which 
had  accumulated  in  the  course  of  time,  and  which,  so 
long  as  they  are  prevalent,  abate  very  much  the  reli¬ 
gious  sensibilities  even  of  those  who  are  the  most 
conscientious.”  He  says,  further,  "that  the  New  Tes¬ 
tament,  considered  as  embodying  a  system  of  morals 
for  the  world,  —  a  system  which  is  slowly  to  develop 
itself,  until  the  human  family  has  been  led  by  it  into 
the  path  of  peace  and  purity,  —  effects  this  great  pur¬ 
pose,  not  by  prohibiting,  in  so  many  words,  the  evils  it 
is  at  length  to  abolish,  but  by  putting  in  movement 
unobtrusive  influences,  which  nothing,  in  the  end,  shall 
be  able  to  withstand.”  *  It  is  thus  that  Christianity  has 
wrought  the  revolution  in  favor  of  woman  ;  that  it  abol¬ 
ished  the  ancient  games  and  gladiatorial  contests  ;  that 
it  has  mitigated  the  horrors  of  war;  that  it  has,  over  a 
large  portion  of  the  earth,  abolished  slavery,  and  that 
it  is  now  hastening  to  bring  it  to  a  full  end.  This 
peculiarity  of  Christianity  gives  it  a  power  of  expansion, 
and  of  adaptation  to  all  circumstances,  which  fits  it  for 
man  as  man. 

Prohibits  only  as  it  excites  and  guides .  —  The  third 
remark  is,  that  Christianity  is  a  system  of  prohibition 
and  restraint  only  as  it  is  a  system  of  excitement  and 
guidance.  Plainly,  there  are  two  kinds  of  self-denial : 
the  one  from  fear  —  formal,  slavish,  barren;  the  other 
from  love  —  blessing  the  spirit,  and  strengthening  it  in 
virtue.  So  far  as  Christianity  requires  self-denial,  it  is 
uniform^  and  only  of  this  latter  kind.  It  does  not  call 
men  off  from  the  world,  that  they  may  sit  sullenly  by 
and  envy  others  the  pleasures  which  they  can  not  share. 


*  Lectures  on  Spiritual  Christianity. 


164 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


If  it  calls  them  at  all,  it  calls  them  to  something  higher, 
purer,  nobler,  happier.  Its  self-denial  is  that  of  a  son 
who  is  laboring  for  the  support  and  comfort  of  a  mother  ; 
of  a  mother  who  denies  herself  that  she  may  educate  a 
son ;  of  a  soldier  who  is  marching  on  to  do  battle  for 
liberty ;  of  a  racer  who  is  speeding  to  the  goal.  It  is 
the  self-denial  of  the  great  Howard,  traversing  Europe, 
and  diving  into  dungeons  to  "take  the  gauge  of  human 
misery,"  with  his  heart  too  much  interested  in  this 
service  to  spend  much  time  even  to  look  at  the  mas¬ 
terpieces  of  art.  And  who  will  say  that  he  did  not 
find  a  satisfaction  higher,  and  more  consonant  to  his 
nature,  than  any  work  of  art  could  have  given?  Chris¬ 
tianity  excludes  man  from  no  enjoyment  that  is  com¬ 
patible  with  his  highest  good.  It  can  not,  indeed, 
reconcile  incompatibilities.  It  can  not  make  a  man  a 
soldier  on  duty,  and  let  him  be  at  the  same  time 
enjoying  himself  by  his  fireside ;  it  can  not  make  him 
a  racer,  and  at  the  same  time  permit  him  to  sit  down 
at  his  ease  by  the  side  of  the  course.  It  does  call 
men  to  be  soldiers,  but  it  is  in  the  army  of  the  Captain 
of  their  salvation ;  it  does  make  them  racers,  but  it 
sets  before  them  an  immortal  crown.  Utterly  do  they 
misapprehend  the  religion  of  Christ  who  regard  it  as 
gloomy  and  austere  —  as  a  system  of  formal  prohibi¬ 
tions  and  restraints.  No ;  its  self-denial  is  from  love. 
It  is  a  system  of  prohibition  and  restraint  only  as  it  is 
a  system  of  excitement  and  guidance.  Let  Christians 
be  fully  inspired  with  the  great  positive  ideas  and 
motives  of  their  religion,  and  it  is  impossible  there 
should  be  in  their  deportment  any  thing  austere,  or 
sanctimonious,  or  gloomy,  more  than  there  was  in  the 
deportment  of  Christ  and  of  his  apostles.  It  is  only 
under  the  influence  of  self-denial  from  love  that  the 
highest  character  can  be  formed. 

Balance  of  motives.  —  Nor,  in  speaking  of  Christianity 


CHRISTIAN  MANHOOD. 


165 


as  a  system  of  excitement  and  restraint,  ought  we  to 
omit  its  wonderful  balance  of  motives,  and  the  maimer 
in  which  every  weak  point  is  guarded.  Of  particular 
instances  of  this  I  have  spoken  incidentally ;  but  the 
system  is  full  of  them.  Thus,  in  the  case  recently 
mentioned,  while  a  selfish  pride  is  guarded  against  and 
destroyed,  the  true  dignity  of  man  is  secured;  while 
the  ambition  of  superiority  and  comparison  is  repressed, 
the  ambition  of  excellence  is  cherished ;  while  the 
deepest  reverence  toward  God  is  demanded,  it  is  made 
compatible  with  an  affectionate  and  filial  confidence ; 
while  humility,  that  virtue  so  peculiarly  Christian,  is 
promoted,  there  is  no  approach  toward  meanness  or 
servility.  It  is  "sorrowful,  yet  always  rejoicing;”  it 
requires  active  beneficence,  yet  represses  all  self-gratu- 
lation ;  it  insists  strongly  on  the  duties  of  piety  and  of 
devotedness  to  God,  but  it  excludes  mysticism  and 
monachism,  by  insisting  equally  upon  our  duties  to 
man ;  it  inculcates  universal  benevolence,  but  weakens 
no  tie  of  family  or  of  country. 

Christian  manhood  and  Christian  society.  — If,  then, 
there  is  this  adaptation  of  Christianity  to  man ;  if  it  is 
adapted  to  his  conscience,  his  intellect,  his  affections, 
his  imagination,  his  will,  —  exciting  and  guiding  them 
aright ;  if  it  represses  only  evil,  and  that  at  its  source ; 
if  its  motives  are  wonderfully  balanced,  so  that  the 
character  produced  by  them  would  be  one  of  great  love¬ 
liness  and  symmetry, —then  it  will  follow  that  it  must 
carry  the  individual  to  the  highest  state  of  perfection, 
not  simply  as  a  Christian,  but  as  a  man.  There  are, 
indeed,  manly  traits  which  are  not  distinctively  Chris^ 
tian ;  but  no  man  can  become  a  Christian  without 
becoming  a  better  man,  or  can  improve  as  a  Christian 
without  improving  in  manhood,  and  the  ideal  of  true 
manhood  will  find  its  completion  only  in  the  perfection 
of  the  Christian  character.  And  what  is  thus  true  of 


L 


166 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


the  individual  must,  for  that  very  reason,  be  true  of 
the  community.  If  we  may  suppose  Christianity  to 
have  done  its  work  upon  all  the  individuals  of  a  com¬ 
munity,  they  would  be  like  the  stones  and  the  beams 
prepared  by  the  workmen  of  Solomon  in  the  mountains, 
and  would  be  ready  to  go  up  into  the  magnificent  temple 
of  a  perfect  society,  without  the  sound  of  the  ax  .or 
the  hammer.  And,  moreover,  the  same  process  which 
would  perfect  individuals  as  such,  and  at  the  same  time 
fit  them  to  coalesce  in  an  harmonious  society  here,  would, 
of  course,  fit  them  for  that  perfect  state  of  society 
which  is  represented  as  existing  in  heaven.  In  this 
respect,  Christianity  commends  itself  to  our  reason. 
It  does  not,  like  other  religions,  care  for  rites,  and 
forms,  and  ceremonies,  except  as  they  bear  upon  char¬ 
acter.  It  lays  down  no  arbitrary  rules,  to  the  observ¬ 
ance  of  which  it  offers  a  reward  in  the  form  or  on  the 
principle  of  wages,  but  it  goes  to  form  a  definite 
character ;  and  we  can  see  that  the  character  it  forms  is 
precisely  such  as  must  be  a  preparation  for  the  heaven 
which  it  promises.  It  speaks  of  a  holy  heaven,  and  its 
great  object  is  to  make  men  holy  here  that  they  may  be 
fit  to  enter  there.  This  is  its  great  object ;  but,  in 
doing  this,  it  would  bring  the  individual  man,  consid¬ 
ered  as  an  inhabitant  of  the  earth,  to  the  highest 
perfection,  and  would  adjust,  in  the  best  possible 
manner,  the  relations  of  society. 

Would  accomplish  all  that  can  he  accomplished.  — 
This  is  a  point  upon  which  I  insist  that  we  are  competent 
to  judge.  It  is  a  vital  point  to  all  who  would  do  any 
thing  to  advance  society  beyond  its  present  state.  We 
know  something  of  man ;  and  we  certainly  can  tell 
what  would  be  the  effects  upon  the  individual,  and 
upon  society,  if  the  law  laid  down  in  the  Bible  —  the 
great  law  of  love  —  were  universally  obeyed,  and  if  the 
principles  there  insisted  on  were  universally  regarded. 


EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE. 


167 


We  know  what  the  representation  of  heaven  is,  as 
made  in  the  Bible,  and  we  certainly  can  tell  whether  the 
following  of  Christ  would  be  a  natural  and  necessary 
preparation  for  such  a  state.  My  object  has  been  to 
compare  Christianity  with  the  nature  of  man  ;  to  observe 
their  adjustments  to  each  other,  and  to  see  what  that 
nature  would  become,  if  yielded  wholly  to  its  influence. 
And  if,  imperfectly  as  this  has  been  done,  I  yet  find 
that  the  powers  of  the  individual  man  come  forth,  in 
their  true  strength  and  proportion,  only  under  its  influ¬ 
ence  ;  if  I  find  that  there  can  be  no  perfect  state  of 
society  except  in  accordance  with  its  laws ;  if  I  see  that 
it  would  fit  man  for  a  heaven  of  purity  and  love,  involv¬ 
ing  the  highest  activity  and  fullest  expansion  of  every 
power, — then  I  am  prepared  to  say  that,  if  this  religion 
be  not  from  God,  it  must  yet  be  true  ;  and  that,  if  God 
should  reveal  a  religion,  it  coidd  neither  propose  nor 
accomplish  any  thing  higher  or  better. 

ARGUMENT  VI. 

THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

I  have  now  brought  to  a  conclusion  the  argument 
from  a  comparison  of  Christianity  with  the  constitution 
of  man.  There  is  another,  usually  termed  the  experi¬ 
mental  evidence  of  Christianity,  which  is  intimately 
connected  with  this ;  for,  if  this  religion  is  indeed 
adapted  to  act  thus  fully  and  powerfully  upon  the  mind, 
it  can  not  but  be  that  he  who  yields  himself  to  its 
influence,  will  find,  growing  out  of  that  very  influence, 
a  deeply-wrought  conviction  of  its  wisdom,  and  of  its 
adaptation  to  his  nature  and  wants.  Of  the  validity  of 
this  argument  there  have  been  various  opinions.  Some 
have  objected  to  it  altogether,  as  fanatical ;  while  others 
have  supposed  that  it  might  be  valid  for  the  Christian 
himself,  but  neither  ought  to  be,  nor  could  be,  any 
ground  of  conviction  for  another.  What,  then,  is  the 


168 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


nature  of  this  argument?  What  ought  to  be  its  force, 
first,  upon  the  minds  of  Christians,  and,  secondly,  upon 
the  minds  of  others?  An  answer  to  these  inquiries 
would  exhaust  the  subject. 

Nature  of  the  argument.  —  What,  then,  is  the  nature 
of  this  argument,  and  the  consequent  force  which  it 
ought  to  have  upon  the  mind  of  the  Christian  himself? 
The  Christian  contends  that  he  has  a  knowledge  of 
Christianity,  and  a  conviction  of  its  truth,  which  he  did 
not  acquire  by  reasoning,  and  which,  therefore,  reason¬ 
ing  can  not,  and  ought  not,  to  shake.  Can  he  have 
such  a  knowledge  and  conviction  in  a  rational  way  ?  By 
confounding  reasoning  with  reason,  many  have  been 
led  to  suppose  that  we  could  have  no  rational  conviction 
of  any  thing  which  we  could  not  prove  by  reasoning. 
Than  this  no  mistake  could  be  greater  ;  for  a  very  large 
part  of  our  knowledge  is  neither  acquired  by  reasoning 
nor  dependent  on  it.  This  is  so  with  all  the  intuitions 
of  reason,  and  with  all  the  knowledge  acquired  by 
sensation  and  by  experience.  The  very  condition  of 
knowledge  at  all  is  a  direct  power  of  perception ;  and 
where  this  does  not  exist,  there  can  be  no  reasoning. 
Thus,  no  one  can  know  what  it  is  to  live,  but  by  living ; 
what  it  is  to  see,  but  by  seeing ;  what  it  is  to  feel,  but 
by  feeling ;  nor,  in  general,  can  any  one  know  what  it 
is  to  he  any  thing,  but  by  becoming  that  thing.  Direct 
knowledge,  thus  gained,  is  the  condition  of  all  reason- 
ing,  and  it  is  not  within  the  proper  province  of  reasoning 
to  call  it  in  question.  The  knowledge  is  not  gained  by 
reasoning,  but  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  rational  to 
admit  it  and  act  upon  it.  The  question  is,  whether 
there  is  a  knowledge  of  Christianity  which  is  obtained 
in  this  way ;  whether,  in  order  to  be  a  Christian,  a  man 
is  simply  to  believe  something,  or  whether  he  is  to 
become  something. 

Essential  to  the  system . — And  here  I  observe  that. 


EXPERIENCE  THE  TEST  OF  REMEDIES. 


169 


if  Christianity  be  true,  there  must  be  such  a  knowledge. 
It  claims  to  be,  not  a  mere  system  of  rites  and  forms, 
nor  a  system  of  philosophical  belief,  but  a  life;  and, 
if  so,  that  life  can  be  known  only  by  living  it;  if  so, 
there  must  be  gained,  by  living  it,  immediate  percep¬ 
tions  and  experimental  knowledge,  such  as  we  gain  by 
living  our  natural  life.  Without  these  it  would  be 
merely  a  form,  or  a  creed  in  the  understanding,  or  an 
external  rule  —  something  dead  and  formal ;  and  not  as 
w  a  well  of  water  springing  up  into  everlasting  life.” 
Without  these,  it  is  impossible  that  the  words  of  Christ 
should  be  spirit  and  life.” 

Moral  and  physical  maladies.  —  The  analogy  is  often 
drawn  in  this  respect,  and,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  properly, 
between  Christianity,  as  a  remedy  for  the  moral  mala¬ 
dies  of  man,  and  remedies  for  bodily  disease.  It  is 
plain  that  he  who  takes  a  remedy  for  bodily  disease 
may  have  an  evidence  and  conviction  of  its  efficacy 
entirely  independent  of  any  testimony  or  reasoning, 
and  more  convincing  than  either  or  both  of  these  could 
give.  He  may  try  the  remedy  in  such  a  variety  of 
forms,  may  so  watch  the  symptoms  as  he  takes  or  omits 
it,  that  he  can  have  no  more  doubt  of  its  effect  than  he 
has  of  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun.  Here  is  some¬ 
thing  which  comes  within  the  province  of  consciousness 
and  of  direct  knowledge,  and  it  is  in  vain  that  you 
attempt  to  destroy  a  conviction  thus  produced.  You 
may  tell  him  that  he  is  not  sick,  and  never  was ;  that 
the  dose  was  minute,  or  the  medicine  inert,  and 
therefore  could  not  have  done  him  any  good ;  but  he 
may  have  had  experience  of  such  a  kind  that  it  would 
be  practically  irrational,  and  the  height  of  folly,  for 
him  to  lay  aside  his  medicine  on  the  ground  of  any 
reasoning,  or  previous  estimate  of  probabilities.  And 
£0,  when  the  mind  is  awakened  to  the  realities  of  its 
spiritual  condition,  if,  as  the  conscience  is  quickened 


170 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


and  the  moral  eye  is  purged,  it  is  perceived  that  there 
is  a  wonderful  correspondence  between  the  discoveries 
which  a  man  makes  concerning  himself  and  the  delinea¬ 
tions  of  the  heart  which  he  finds  in  the  Bible ;  if  this 
correspondence  is  the  same  in  kind  with  that  which  he 
finds  in  the  writings  of  those  who  have  best  described 
human  character,  but  is  more  perfect ;  if  it  is  such  that 
an  uncultivated  man,  to  whom  the  Bible  becomes  a  new 
book,  may  well  say,  as  one  recently  did  say,  "  I  see 
now  that  a  man’s  history  may  be  written  before  he  was 
born ;  ”  if  he  finds  in  himself  wants,  hungerings  and 
thirstings  of  spirit,  for  which  Christianity,  and  nothing 
else,  makes  provision,  and  feels  that  that  provision  is 
precisely  adapted  to  his  wants ;  if  he  finds  himself 
engaged  in  a  conflict  for  which  Christianity  furnishes 
the  only  appropriate  armor ;  if  he  obtains  answers  to 
prayer,  and  finds  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need,  so  that 
his  evil  tendencies  are  overcome  and  his  virtues  are 
strengthened, — then  it  would  be  no  more  rational  for 
him  to  doubt  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion  than 
to  doubt  the  testimony  of  his  senses.  Of  such  corre¬ 
spondences  between  his  heart  and  the  Bible,  of  such 
wants  and  their  supplies,  of  such  helps  and  of  such 
conquests,  we  might  naturally  suppose  the  Christian 
would  have  an  experimental  knowledge,  if  Christianity 
be  true ;  and  I  venture  to  say  that  no  religion  could 
do  for  man  what  Christianity  proposes  to  do  without 
furnishing  to  those  under  its  influence  this  kind  of 
evidence. 

Christianity  promises  it.  —  And  not  only  might  we  * 
rationally  expect  such  a  ground  of  conviction,  but 
Christianity  itself,  understanding  its  own  nature  and 
the  grounds  on  which  it  would  be  believed  in,  promises 
to  give  it  to  all  who  will  put  themselves  in  a  position 
to  avail  themselves  of  it.  "If  any  man,”  says  Christ, 
"will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine.” 


THIS  EVIDENCE  OPEN  TO  ALL. 


171 


"He,”  says  John,  " that  belie veth  on  the  Son  of  God, 
hath  the  witness  in  himself.”  "The  Spirit  itself,”  says 
Paul,  "  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are  the 
children  of  God.”  This  evidence  Christianity  regards 
as  indispensable .  It  counts  itself  to  have  done  nothing 
till  this  is  given o  Till  then,  it  is  like  the  physician 
who  stands  by  the  bedside  and  exhibits  the  evidences 
of  his  skill,  but  accomplishes  nothing,  if  the  patient  so 
dislikes  the  remedy  that  he  prefers  to  suffer  the  pain, 
and  risk  the  consequences  of  the  disease,  rather  than 
to  take  that  remedy.  Here,  indeed,  is  the  great  point 
of  difficulty.  It  is  not  so  much  that  men  are  not  spec¬ 
ulatively  convinced  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  as  that 
they  defer  applying  it  to  themselves,  and  thus  fail  of 
the  highest  of  all  possible  grounds  of  conviction  —  that 
of  experience. 

Possessed  by  cdl  Christians.  — And  as  this  evidence 
might  be  anticipated  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  and 
is  promised  in  the  Scriptures,  so  we  find  it  possessed 
by  all  true  Christians,  though  in  a  degree  by  no  means 
proportioned  to  their  learning  or  talents,  but  to  the 
sincerity  of  their  faith  and  the  fullness  of  their  obe¬ 
dience.  Hence,  unlike  those  species  of  evidence  which 
require  learning,  it  is  open  to  all,  and  forms,  for  Chris¬ 
tians  of  every  age  and  of  every  variety  of  attainment, 
a  ground  of  conviction,  which  they  do  not  perhaps  state 
as  an  argument,  but  which  is  rational,  and  satisfactory 
to  all.  To  the  philosopher  it  is  satisfactory,  because 
he  can  trace  it  up  to  its  principles,  and  can  feel  that,  in 
resting  on  it,  he  is  resting  on  precisely  the  same  kind 
of  evidence  which  commands  assent  in  all  other  cases 
of  consciousness ;  and  hffis  not  less  satisfactory  to  the 
unlettered  man  through  that  healthy  assent,  unaccom¬ 
panied  by  any  reflex  act  of  the  mind,  by  which  we  gain 
all  our  primary  knowledge.  "Merely  literary  men,” 
says  Wilson,  taking  the  thought  from  Yerplanck,  "are 


172 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


alow  to  admit  that  vulgar  minds  can  have  any  rational 
perception  of  truths  involving  great  and  high  contem¬ 
plation.  They  overlook  the  distinction  between  the 
nice  analysis  of  principles,  the  accurate  statement  of 
definitions,  logical  inferences,  and  the  solution  of  diffi¬ 
culties,  and  the  structure  of  our  own  thoughts  and  the  play 
of  the  affections.  They  discern  not  between  the  theory 
of  metaphysical  science  and  the  first  truths  and  rational 
instincts  which  are  implanted  in  the  breasts  of  all,  and 
which  prepare  them  to  see  the  glory  of  the  gospel,  to 
feel  its  influence,  and  to  argue  from  both  for  the  divinity 
of  Christianity.  The  one  is  an  elevating  employment 
of  the  intellect ;  the  other,  the  germs  and  seeds  of  all 
intellectual  and  moral  knowledge,  which  lie  dormant 
till  they  are  called  forth  by  occasions,  and  then  burst 
forth  into  life  and  power.”  * 

Ground  of  martyrdom.  —  And  this  evidence,  being 
thus  universal,  shows  us  the  true  reason  of  that  hold 
which  Christianity  has  upon  the  minds  of  men,  and  of 
the  place  which  it  holds  in  the  earth  as  a  leavening  and 
extending  power.  It  is  through  this  that  the  weak  are 
made  strong  and  the  timid  brave  ;  that  persons  of  every 
description  have  become  martyrs,  equally  in  the  first 
freshness  and  power  of  the  religion,  and  near  the  seat 
of  its  origin,  and,  in  these  last  days,  in  the  remote 
island,  and  among  the  semi-barbarous  people,  of  Mada¬ 
gascar.  I  know  it  is  said  that  all  religions  can  claim 
their  martyrs,  and  that  for  a  man  to  die  for  his  religion 
only  shows  that  he  is  sincere,  and  not  at  all  the  truth 
of  the  religion.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  the  Christian 
religion  is  peculiar  in  this  respect,  on  the  ground  we 
are  now  considering,  and  that  its  martyrdoms  do  show 
something  more.  As  between  Christian  sects,  martyr¬ 
dom  can,  indeed,  show  nothing  concerning  the  truth  of 
particular  tenets  ;  and  it  may  be  doubted  whether  other 


*  Wilson’s  Evidences. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  MARTYRDOM. 


173 


religions  have  had  their  martyrs,  in  the  strict  sense  of 
that  word .  In  confirmation  of  what  other  religion  can 
it  be  shown  that  any  considerable  number  of  persons 
have  laid  down  their  lives  solely  from  their  belief  in  the 
religion,  unconnected  with  ambition,  or  the  revolution 
of  parties?  I  know  of  none.  What  other  religion 
could  go  to  the  Island  of  Madagascar,  and,  not  only 
without  any  temptation  of  honor  or  gain,  but  in  oppo¬ 
sition  to  every  motive  of  this  kind,  and  to  the  entreaties 
of  friends,  could  induce  persons  to  change  their  religion, 
and  then  lead  them,  solely  for  the  sake  of  the  new 
religion,  to  wander  about  destitute,  afflicted,  tormented, 
and  finally  to  lay  down  their  lives  ?  And  here  we  see 
only  the  operation  of  the  same  principle  that  led  per¬ 
sons  of  all  descriptions,  under  the  Roman  emperors, 
to  submit  to  the  loss  of  all,  and  to  martyrdom.  Such 
martyrs,  —  the  most  enlightened  philosophers  and  schol¬ 
ars,  multitudes  of  the  common  people,  women,  and  even 
children,  evidently  upheld  by  the  same  convictions, — 
I  contend,  are  peculiar  to  the  Christian  religion.  The 
history  of  the  world  can  show  nothing  like  them ;  and 
whoever  will  consider  them  candidly,  must  confess  that 
they  show,  not  merely  the  sincerity  of  those  who  suf¬ 
fered,  but  the  adaptation  of  the  religion  to  take  a  deep 
hold  of  the  human  mind,  and  its  power  to  produce 
conviction,  in  the  manner  of  which  I  am  now  speaking. 
In  this  power  we  rejoice.  We  point  it  out  to  the 
infidel.  We  say  to  him  that,  as  long  as  this  power 
remains,  his  warfare  against  Christianity  must  be  in  vain. 
We  tell  him  that  he  may  argue,  may  ridicule,  may  scoff ; 
may  think,  with  the  mild  Pliny,  that  "  such  inveterate 
obstinacy  ought  to  be  punished  ;  ”  and  he  may  persecute 
and  kill ;  —  but  that  he  can  never  cause  the  true  Chris¬ 
tian  to  yield  his  faith,  or  prevent  the  working  of  those 
secret  but  mighty  affinities  by  which  he  becomes  more 
attached  to  it  than  to  kindred,  or  wealth,  or  life. 


174 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Satisfactory  to  Christians .  —  If,  then,  this  evidence 
is  of  a  nature  so  unexceptionable ;  if  it  is  promised  in 
the  Scriptures ;  if  we  find  such  evidence  of  it  in  the 
lives  of  Christians, — we  may  well  conclude  that  it 
must  be,  to  them ,  a  rational  and  satisfactory  ground  of 
conviction  that  the  religion  is  true. 


Should  he  to  others. — But  the  unbeliever  may  say, 
This  may  be  all  very  well  for  the  Christian  himself,  but 
it  can  be  no  evidence  to  me.  Let  us  see,  then,  whether 
it  would  be  no  evidence  to  a  candid  man ;  whether  an 
attempt  is  not  made  in  this,  as  in  so  many  other  cases, 
to  judge  of  religion  in  a  way  and  by  a  standard  differ¬ 
ent  from  those  adopted  in  other  things.  To  me  it 
seems  that  the  simple  question  is,  whether  this  kind  of 
evidence  is  good  for  the  Christian  himself ;  for  if  it  is, 
then  the  candid  inquirer  is  as  much  bound  to  take  his 
testimony  as  he  is  to  take  that  of  a  man  who  has  been 
sick,  respecting  a  remedy  that  has  cured  him.  If  a 
large  number  of  persons,  whose  testimony  would  be 
received  on  any  other  subject,  should  say  that  they  had 
been  cured  of  a  fever  by  a  particular  remedy,  there  is 
no  man  who  would  say  that  their  testimony  was  of  no 
account  in  making  up  his  mind  respecting  that  remedy, 
though  he  had  not  himself  had  the  experience  upon 
which  the  testimony  was  founded.  If  it  is  said  that  the 
evidence  to  the  Christian  himself  is  not  well  founded, 
and  is  fanatical,  very  well.  Let  that  point  be  fairly 
settled.  But  if  it  be  a  good  argument  for  him,  then  we 
ask  that  his  testimony  should  be  received  on  this  subject 
as  it  would  be  on  any  other.  The  testimony  is  that  of 
many  witnesses  ;  and  I  am  persuaded  that  a  fair  exami¬ 
nation  of  facts,  and  a  careful  induction,  after  the  manner 
of  Bacon,  would  settle  forever  the  validity  of  this  argu¬ 
ment,  and  the  proper  force  of  this  testimony.  Every 
circumstance  conspires  to  give  it  force.  It  is  only  from 
its  truth  that  we  can  account  for  its  surprising  uniformity, 


IDENTITY  OF  CHRISTIAN  EXPERIENCE. 


175 


I  may  say  identity,  in  every  age,  in  every  country,  and 
when  given  by  persons  of  every  variety  of  talent  and  of 
mental  culture.  Compare  the  statements  given,  respect¬ 
ing  the  power  of  the  gospel,  by  Jonathan  Edwards,  by 
a  converted  Greenlander,  a  Sandwich  Islander,  and  a 
Hottentot,  and  you  will  find  in  them  all  a  substantial 
identity.  They  have  all  repented,  and  believed,  and 
loved,  and  obeyed,  and  rejoiced ;  they  all  speak  of 
similar  conflicts,  and  of  similar  supports.  And  their 
statements  respecting  these  things  have  the  more  force, 
because  they  are  not  given  as  testimony,  but  seem 
rather  like  notes,  varying,  indeed,  in  fullness  and  power, 
which  may  yet  be  recognized  as  coming  from  a  similar 
instrument  touched  by  a  single  hand.  If  I  might  allude 
here  to  the  comparison,  by  Christ,  of  the  Spirit  to  the 
wind,  I  should  say  that  in  every  climate,  and  under  all 
circumstances,  that  divine  Agent  calls  forth  the  same 
sweet  notes  whenever  he  touches  the  TEolian  harp  of  a 
soul  renewed.  And  this  uniform  testimony  does  not 
come  as  a  naked  expression  of  mere  feeling ;  it  is 
accompanied  with  a  change  of  life,  and  with  fruits  meet 
for  repentance,  showing  a  permanent  change  of  princi¬ 
ple.  This  testimony,  too,  is  given  under  circumstances 
best  fitted  to  secure  truth  —  given  in  affliction,  in  pov¬ 
erty,  on  the  bed  of  death.  How  many,  how  very  many, 
have  testified  in  their  final  hour  to  the  sustaining  power 
of  the  gospel !  And  was  there  ever  one,  did  any  body 
ever  hear  of  one,  who  repented,  at  that  hour,  of  having 
been  a  Christian?  Why  not,  then,  receive  this  testi¬ 
mony?  Will  you  make  your  own  experience  the 
standard  of  what  you  will  believe?  Then  we  invite 
you  to  become  a  Christian,  and  gain  this  experience, 
Will  you  be  like  the  man  who  did  not  believe  in  the 
existence  of  Jupiter’s  moons,  and  yet  refused  to  look 
through  the  telescope  of  Galileo  for  fear  he  should  see 
them?  Put  the  eye  of  faith  to  the  gospel,  and  if  you 


176 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


do  not  see  new  moral  heavens,  I  have  nothing  more  to 
say.  Will  you  refuse  to  believe  that  there  is  an  echo 
at  a  particular  spot,  to  believe  that  the  lowest  sound 
can  be  conveyed  around  the  circuit  of  a  whispering 
gallery,  and  yet  refuse  to  put  your  ear  at  the  proper 
point  to  test  these  facts  ?  Put  your  ear  to  the  gospel, 
and  if  you  do  not  hear  voices  gathered  from  three 
worlds,  I  have  nothing  more  to  say.  Will  you  refuse 
to  believe  that  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  are  to  be  seen 
in  a  drop  of  water,  and  yet  not  put  your  eye  at  the 
angle  at  which  alone  they  can  be  seen?  Or,  if  you 
think  there  is  nothing  analogous  to  this  in  moral  mat¬ 
ters, —  as  there  undoubtedly  is, — will  you  hear  men 
speaking  of  the  high  enjoyment  they  derive  from  view¬ 
ing  works  of  art,  and  think  them  deluded  and  fanatical 
till  your  taste  is  so  cultivated  that  you  may  have  the 
same  enjoyment?  Surely,  nothing  can  be  more  unrea¬ 
sonable  than  for  men  to  make  their  own  experience,  in 
such  cases,  a  standard  of  belief,  and  yet  refuse  the 
only  conditions  on  which  experience  can  be  had. 

Conclusion. — I  have  thus  endeavored  to  show,  first, 
that  there  is  in  Christianity  a  self-evidencing  power, 
and  that  the  experimental  knowledge  of  a  Christian  is 
to  him  a  valid  ground  of  belief ;  and,  secondly,  that  a 
fair-minded  man  will  receive  his  testimony  respecting 
that  knowledge  as  he  would  respecting  the  colors  in  a 
drop,  or  the  echo  at  a  particular  point,  or  the  pleasures 
of  taste,  or  any  other  exjierience  which  he  had  not 
himself  been  in  a  position  to  gain. 

ARGUMENT  VII. 

FITNESS  AND  TENDENCY  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  BECOME  UNIVERSAL. 

There  is  one  argument  more,  intimately  connected 
with  the  adaptation  of  Christianity  to  the  constitu¬ 
tion  of  man,  to  which  I  now  proceed.  A  fitness  and 


OBJECT  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


177 


tendency  to  become  universal  must  be  discernible  in  a 
religion  coming  from  God,  and  claiming  to  be  given 
for  the  race  ;  and  if  there  is  the  adaptation  for  which  I 
have  contended,  then  Christianity  must  have  this  fitness 
and  tendency. 

What  it  is  not  —  its  object  as  related  to  human  insti¬ 
tutions.  —  The  fitness,  however,  of  Christianity  to 
become  universal,  arises  as  much  from  what  it  is  not 
as  from  what  it  is,  and  can  be  fully  appreciated  only 
by  looking  at  the  relation  of  its  object  to  all  human 
institutions.  That  object  is  a  moral  object,  with  no 
taint  of  any  thing  earthly  about  it ;  and,  in  pursuing 
it,  Christianity  keeps  itself  entirely  aloof  from  all  polit¬ 
ical  and  local  questions.  It  regards  man  solely  as  a 
moral  and  spiritual  being,  under  the  government  of 
God ;  and  its  object,  distinctly  announced  from  the 
first,  is  to  save  men  from  the  consequences  of  trans¬ 
gression  under  that  government.  "  His  name  shall  be 
called  Jesus,”  said  the  angel,  "for  he  shall  save  his 
people  from  their  sins  ;  ”  —  not  from  the  Roman  yoke  — 
not  primarily  from  any  earthly  evil  —  but  from  their 
sins.  Upon  this  one  object  Christianity  steadily  keeps 
its  eye.  The  Son  of  man  came  "to  seek  and  to  save 
that  which  was  lost.”  It  is  simply  a  system  of  salvation 
from  sin,  and  its  consequences  under  the  government 
of  God ;  and  whatever  may  be  his  age,  or  language,  or 
country,  or  the  form  of  government  under  which  he 
lives,  it  is  equally  adapted  to  every  child  of  Adam  who 
is  led  to  ask  the  question,  "What  must  I  do  to  be 
saved  ?  ”  It  comes  with  pardon  and  hope  to  every  one 
who  feels  the  guilt  of  sin,  or  who  is  subject  to  bondage 
through  fear  of  death.  There  are  certain  great  moral 
interests  which  are  common  to  the  race,  —  certain 
chords  in  the  human  heart  which  vibrate  whenever 
they  are  struck ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  Christianity 
concerns  itself  only  with  those  interests,  and  strikes 


178 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


only  those  chords.  It  has  to  do  with  individuals  as 
guilty  under  the  government  of  God,  without  respect 
to  their  earthly  relations ;  and  hence  it  has  the  power 
to  enter  in  as  a  new  element,  and  to  pervade  and  en¬ 
lighten  every  form  of  society,  as  the  sunlight  enters 
into  and  pervades  the  body  of  the  atmosphere.  Hence, 
in  its  original  diffusion,  regarding  man  simply  as  man, 
it  swept  as  freely  as  the  breeze  of  heaven  past  all  terri¬ 
torial  and  national  limits.  All  other  religions  are 
adapted  to  particular  climates ;  are  upheld,  like  that 
of  the  Jews,  by  association  with  particular  places  ;  but, 
since  Christ  has  entered  into  the  true  tabernacle  above, 
incense  and  a  pure  offering  may  go  up  from  every  place. 
All  other  religions  are  connected  with  the  government, 
and  we  have  no  evidence  that  without  such  connection 
they  could  be  sustained.  But  "  Christianity,  as  a  spir¬ 
itual  system,  is  always  superior  to  every  visible  insti¬ 
tution.”  Some  systems  and  institutions  may  oppose 
greater  obstacles  to  its  progress  than  others ;  but  none 
can  become  Christianity,  nor  can  they  do  any  thing  for 
it  except  to  give  it  free  scope  to  do  its  own  work  upon 
individual  character.  It  is  not  monarchy,  it  is  not 
democracy,  it  is  not  Episcopacy,  it  is  not  Congregation¬ 
alism  ;  it  is  something  which  may  pervade  and  bless 
society  where  any  of  these  exist,  and  which  may  be 
withdrawn  and  leave  either  of  these  standing  as  an 
organization  through  which  human  passion  and  corrup¬ 
tion  shall  work  out  their  own  unmixed  and  unmitigated 
effects.  Hence,  too,  Christianity  attacks  no  visible 
institutions  as  such.  It  goes  to  the  slave,  and  tells 
him  he  is  the  Lord’s  freedman ;  it  goes  to  the  master, 
and  tells  him  he  is  Christ’s  servant.  It  tells  both  master 
and  slave  that  they  are  brethren.  It  goes  to  the  king, 
and  tells  him  he  is  the  subject  of  a  higher  power ;  it 
goes  to  the  subject,  and  tells  him  he  may  become  a 
king  and  priest  to  God.  It  raises  all  men  to  the  level 


MODE  OF  WORKING. 


179 


of  a  common  immortality ;  it  depresses  them  all  to  the 
level  of  a  common  sinfulness  and  exposure  ;  it  subjects 
all  to  a  common  accountability ;  it  oilers  to  all  a  com¬ 
mon  salvation  ;  it  proposes  to  all  a  law  of  perfect  equity 
and  a  principle  of  universal  love ;  and  then  it  leaves 
these  principles  and  motives  to  work  their  own  effect 
—  assured  that,  in  proportion  as  they  act,  they  must 
change  the  nature,  if  not  the  name,  of  all  visible  insti¬ 
tutions  opposed  to  its  spirit.  It  is  capable  of  taking 
human  organizations,  as  culture  took  the  peach  when  it 
was  dwarfed  and  its  fruit  was  poisonous.,  and  of  caus¬ 
ing  other  juices  and  vital  fluids  to  circulate  through  the 
pores  of  those  same  organizations,  and  far  other  fruit 
to  hang  upon  their  branches.  It  understands  perfectly 
that  no  change  of  form  is  of  any  permanent  value  with¬ 
out  a  change  of  spirit ;  and  seeks  (and  oh  that  men 
would  learn  this  lesson !)  a  change  of  form  only 
through  a  change  of  spirit.  Hence  it  works  like  leaven, 
that  passes  on  from  particle  to  particle,  and  finds  no 
limit  till  the  whole  lump  is  leavened.  Hence,  too,  I 
may  remark  here,  Christianity  is  the  most  formidable 
of  all  foes  to  tyrants  and  to  every  form  of  oppression. 
No  walls,  or  fortifications,  or  armed  legions,  can  keep 
it  out,  and  no  weapon  can  smite  it.  Working  silently 
upon  the  consciences  of  men,  it  is  impossible  to  say 
where  it  is,  or  to  what  extent,  and  the  opposer  knows 
not  where  to  strike.  The  very  executioner  chosen  by 
persecution  offers  himself  to  die  with  the  martyr ;  and 
when  it  is  supposed  that  the  two  witnesses  are  dead, 
and  there  is  great  rejoicing,  they  suddenly  rise  and 
stand  upon  their  feet. 

Positive  adaptations.  — But  the  fitness  of  Christianity 
to  become  universal  does  not  result  from  any  proper¬ 
ties  merely  negative,  nor  from  the  possibility  of  its 
becoming  so  ;  but  from  all  those  adaptations  by  which 
it  appears  that  it  contains  the  moral  laws  of  God,  and 


180 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


lays  down  the  only  conditions  of  individual  and  social 
well-being.  Of  some  of  these  adaptations  I  have 
spoken ;  and,  for  my  present  purpose,  it  can  not  be 
necessary  that  I  should  speak  further,  because,  what¬ 
ever  men  may  think  of  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity, 
—  however  far  they  may  be  from  yielding  practically 
to  its  claims,  — they  almost  universally  concede  that  its 
tendency  is  good,  and  that  society  is  improved  just  so 
far  as  it  prevails.  This  is  conceded  by  philosophers, 
and  politicians,  and  men  of  the  world ;  and,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  of  the  lowest  and  most  bigoted  of 
them,  by  infidels  themselves.  They  can  not  deny  its 
tendency  to  promote  industry,  and  honesty,  and  tem¬ 
perance,  and  peace,  and  good  order.  And,  if  this  is 
so,  then  Christianity  has  a  positive  fitness  to  become 
universal  in  the  same  way  that  any  truth  or  practical 
knowledge  has  ;  and,  if  there  is  ever  to  be  any  thing 
like  universal  order,  it  must  take  its  place  as  a  part 
of  it. 

If  fitness,  then  tendency.  —  But,  if  there  is  this  fit¬ 
ness  in  Christianity  to  become  universal,  then  it  must 
have  a  tendency  to  become  so,  or  else  there  is  neither  a 
tendency  to  progress,  nor  a  law  of  progress,  for  man. 
The  whole  of  our  hope  here  rests  on  the  belief  that 
there  is  inwrought  into  the  constitution  of  things  a 
tendency  by  which  those  things  that  have  a  fitness  to 
promote  happiness  shall  gradually  remove  obstacles, 
and  become  universal.  That  the  Saviour  intended  his 
religion  should  become  universal  is  plain,  because  he 
left  it  in  charge  to  his  disciples  to  preach  it  to  every 
creature.  That  a  real  apprehension  of  its  truths,  and 
of  their  value  to  the  race,  would  lead  a  benevolent 
mind  to  wish  to  communicate  them,  is  equally  plain ; 
and  hence  we  say  that,  from  the  command  of  Christ, 
and  from  the  very  nature  of  Christian  truth  and  of 
Christian  motives,  Christians  themselves  can  never  rest 


TENDENCY  TO  PREVAIL. 


181 


till  they  have  carried  this  gospel  over  the  earth.  But 
we  say,  further  than  this,  that  Christianity  has  the  same 
tendency  to  prevail  that  reason  has  to  prevail  over 
brute  force,  or  that  virtue  has  to  prevail  over  vice,  or 
truth  over  error,  —  the  same  tendency  that  correct  doc¬ 
trines  respecting  peace,  or  justice,  or  political  economy, 
have  to  prevail  over  those  that  are  false.  Man  is 
capable  of  scientific  insight,  and  he  seeks  to  be  happy. 
There  are  certain  moral  laws  of  God,  as  fixed  and 
unchangeable  as  any  physical  laws,  in  accordance  with 
which  alone  he  can  be  so.  Those  laws,  we  say,  are  a 
part  of  Christianity,  and  that  all  true  progress  in  society 
must  be  a  progress  toward  the  realization  and  estab¬ 
lishment  of  those  laws.  We  say  that  every  step  in  the 
progress  of  moral  and  political  science  shows  that,  when 
these  shall  be  complete,  they  will  be  seen  to  be  only  the 
scientific  expression  of  the  precepts  and  laws  of  Chris¬ 
tianity.  Hence  there  is  the  same  tendency  to  univer¬ 
sality  in  Christianity,  —  not  as  a  mode  of  salvation,  but 
in  its  earthly  aspects,  — that  there  is  to  any  advancement 
and  progress  in  morals,  or  in  politics,  or  in  political 
economy.  The  true  laws  of  these,  and  of  human,  hap¬ 
piness  as  depending  on  them,  will  be  found  to  be  iden¬ 
tical  with  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  and  they  can  never 
be  practically  applied  except  as  that  spirit  prevails. 

Conclusion. — Thus  we  see  a  preparation  made,  in 
the  adaptation  of  Christianity  to  the  nature  and  wants 
of  man  as  man ;  in  the  command  of  Christ ;  in  the  na¬ 
ture  of  Christian  love  and  of  Christian  motives  ;  and  in 
the  identity  of  Christianity,  in  some  of  its  aspects,  with 
moral  and  political  science,  for  that  final  and  universal 
triumph  predicted  by  the  prophets  and  waited  for  by 
the  church;  and  through  these,  in  connection  with  that 
divine  aid  which  is  promised  and  has  never  been  with¬ 
held,  we  think  it  rational  to  expect,  not  only  that  it 
will  be  perpetuated  till  the  end  of  time,  but  that  "the 

M 


182 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


mountain  of  the  Lord’s  house  will  be  established  in  the 
top  of  the  mountains,  and  that  all  nations  will  flow 
unto  it.” 

ARGUMENT  VIII. 

CHRISTIANITY  HAS  ALWAYS  BEEN  IN  THE  WORLD. 

Having  thus  spoken  of  the  continuance  of  Christian¬ 
ity  till  the  end  of  time,  I  will  close  this  lecture  by 
observing  that,  in  substance,  if  not  in  form,  it  has  con¬ 
tinued  from  the  beginning.  That  it  should  have  been 
always  in  the  world,  is  mentioned  by  Pascal  as  the 
mark  of  a  religion  from  God.  It  is  a  mark  which  we 
might  expect  would  belong  to  the  true  religion,  and 
this  mark  Christianity,  and  that  alone,  has.  The  pa¬ 
triarchal,  the  Jewish,  and  the  Christian  dispensations, 
are  evidently  but  the  unfolding  of  one  general  plan. 
In  the  first  we  see  the  folded  bud;  in  the  second,  the 
expanded  leaf ;  in  the  third,  the  blossom  and  the  fruit. 
And  now,  how  sublime  the  idea  of  a  religion  thus  com¬ 
mencing  in  the  earliest  dawn  of  time  ;  holding  on  its 
way  through  all  the  revolutions  of  kingdoms  and  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  race  ;  receiving  new  forms,  but  always 
identical  in  spirit ;  and,  finally,  expanding  and  embra¬ 
cing  in  one  great  brotherhood  the  whole  family  of  man  ! 
Who  can  doubt  that  such  a  religion  was  from  God? 


LECTURE  V II. 


ARGUMENT  NINTH  :  CHRISTIANITY  COULD  NOT  HAVE  BEEN  ORI 

GINATED  BY  MAN. 

If  we  could  possibly  be  called  on  to  argue  the  ques¬ 
tion  whether  the  ocean  was  made  by  God,  or  whether 
it  was  an  artificial  salt  lake,  made  by  man,  we  should 
show,  on  the  one  hand,  that  it  was  worthy  of  God,  and 
that  it  corresponded  with  his  other  works  ;  and,  on  the 
other,  that  it  was  impossible  it  should  have  been  made 
by  man.  Every  fact  respecting  its  vastness  and  depth 
would  show  that  it  was  worthy  of  God,  and  every  rela¬ 
tion  that  could  be  pointed  out  between  that  and  the 
other  works  of  God  would  be  an  argument  to  show 
that  they  were  fashioned  by  the  same  hand.  Probably 
no  one  could  see  the  sun  evaporating  its  waters,  the 
atmosphere  bearing  them  up  in  clouds,  the  clouds  pour¬ 
ing  them  down  upon  the  waiting  tribes  of  vegetation, 
the  springs  welling  them  up  for  the  service  of  animals 
and  of  man,  without  being  convinced  that  He  who  made 
the  sun,  and  the  air,  and  the  grass,  and  the  animals, 
and  man,  made  also  the  ocean.  Such  relations  of 
mutual  dependence  could  exist  only  in  the  different 
departments  of  the  works  of  one  Being. 

Method  of  the  argument.  —  Hitherto,  I  have  endeav¬ 
ored  to  show  that  Christianity  was  worthy  of  God,  and 
that  it  so  corresponds  with  his  other  works,  that  He 

(183) 


t 


184 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


who  made  nature,  and  the  mind,  must  have  been  the 
author  of  Christianity.  I  now  proceed  to  show  that  it 
could  not  have  been  produced  by  man.  It  may,  per¬ 
haps,  amount  to  the  same  thing,  whether  I  attempt  to 
show  that  Christianity  must  have  come  from  God,  or 
could  not  have  come  from  man ;  but  as  the  terms  of 
comparison  are  different,  it  will  lead  to  a  presenta¬ 
tion  of  the  subject  in  an  entirely  different  point 
of  view. 

Reason  for  continuing  it.  — I  continue  to  pursue  this 
method  of  proof,  bringing  Christianity,  in  different 
relations,  alongside  of  the  human  mind,  because  it  is 
perfectly  within  the  reach  of  every  person  of  good 
sense,  whether  learned  or  unlearned.  We  know  the 
capacities  of  the  human  mind,  and  we  are  capable  of 
forming,  within  certain  limits,  a  judgment,  respecting 
what  it  can  or  can  not  do,  upon  which  we  may  rely. 
The  powers  of  the  mind  are  limited  no  less  than  those 
of  the  body ;  and  as  we  can  judge  what  man  can  do,  in 
given  circumstances,  by  his  physical  strength,  and,  in 
some  cases,  be  sure  we  are  right,  so  we  can  judge  what 
he  can  do  intellectually  and  morally,  in  given  circum¬ 
stances,  and,  in  some  cases,  be  sure  we  are  right.  The 
question,  then,  is,  whether  it  is  possible  that  the  human 
mind  should  have  originated  the  Christian  system, 
under  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was  placed.  Had 
unassisted  man  the  capacity  to  originate  such  a  system  ? 
Was  there  any  motive  to  lead  him  to  labor  for  its  estab¬ 
lishment?  Upon  this  point  I  have  already  incidentally 
touched,  but  it  requires  further  attention. 

Christianity  to  he  accounted  for.  —  And  here  I 
observe,  that  the  question  concerning  the  origin  of 
Christianity  can  not  be  disposed  of  by  a  general  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  facility  with  which  mankind  are  deluded, 
and  the  frequency  of  impostures  in  the  world.  This  may 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  THE  GULF-STREAM. 


185 


do  when  speaking  of  the  origin  of  local  and  temporary 
movements,  but  not  when  we  approach  the  deepest  and 
mightiest  movement  that  has  appeared  on  the  earth. 
It  is  admitted  that  delusions  are  not  uncommon ;  that 
fanaticism,  and  enthusiasm,  and  interest,  and  fraud, 
and,  possibly,  all  these  combined,  may  go  a  great  way ; 
but  is  it  possible  that  any  thing  thus  originated  should 
overturn  systems  the  most  deeply  seated,  and  receive 
the  homage  of  the  highest  intellect  and  of  the  most 
extensive  learning  the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  gain 
vigor  by  opposition,  and  survive,  for  eighteen  hundred 
years,  every  change  in  the  forms  of  society,  and,  at  the 
end  of  that  time,  stand  at  the  head  of  those  influences 
which  are  leading  mankind  on  to  a  higher  destiny? 
For  such  a  religion,  or  delusion,  or  movement,  to  arise, 
is  not  an  every-day  occurrence.  It  is  altogether  unpre¬ 
cedented  in  the  history  of  the  race  ;  and  to  put  aside 
the  question  of  its  origin  by  telling  us  that  mankind  are 
easily  deceived,  is  much  the  same  as  it  would  be  to  put 
aside  the  question  about  the  origin  of  the  Gulf  Stream 
by  telling  us  that  water  is  an  element  very  easily  moved 
in  different  directions.  Certainly,  water  is  a  fluctuating 
and  unstable  element ;  but  to  say  this,  is  not  to  account 
for  a  broad  current  in  mid  ocean  that  has  been  uniform 
since  time  began ;  nor  is  it  any  account  of  a  uniform 
current  of  thought  and  feeling,  setting  in  one  direction 
for  eighteen  hundred  years,  to  say  that  the  human  mind 
is  fluctuating  and  unstable  ;  that  man  has  been  often 
deceived  ;  and  that  there  have  been  great  extravagances 
in  belief.  The  origin  of  such  a  movement  is  to  be 
investigated,  and  not  to  be  shrouded  in  mist.  The  New 
Testament  gives  a  full  and  satisfactory  account  of  it ; 
and  it  behooves  those  who  do  not  receive  that  account, 
to  substitute  some  other  that  shall,  at  least,  be  plausi¬ 
ble.  This  they  have  failed  to  do. 

Five  causes  of  Gibbon . — Perhaps  no  one  was  more 


186 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


competent  to  do  this,  or  has  been  more  successful,  than 
Gibbon ;  and  }ret  the  five  causes  which  he  assigns  for 
the  spread  of  Christianity  —  namely,  "  the  zeal  of 
Christians,”  " their  doctrine  of  a  future  life,”  "the  mi¬ 
raculous  powers  ascribed  to  the  primitive  church,” 
"their  pure  and  austere  morals,”  and  "their  union”  — 
are  obviously  effects  of  that  very  religion  of  which  they 
are  assigned  as  the  cause. 

Must  be  from  God. — To  me,  when  I  look  at  this 
religion,  taking  its  point  of  departure  from  the  earliest 
period  in  the  history  of  the  race  ;  when  I  see  it  anal¬ 
ogous  to  nature ;  when  I  see  it  comprising  all  that 
natural  religion  teaches,  and  introducing  a  new  system 
in  entire  harmony  with  it,  but  which  could  not  have 
been  deduced  from  it ;  when  I  see  it  commending  itself 
to  the  conscience  of  man,  containing  a  perfect  code  of 
morals,  meeting  all  his  moral  wants,  and  unbosoming 
the  only  true  principles  of  economical  and  political 
science  ;  when  I  see  in  it  the  best  possible  system  of 
excitement  and  restraint  for  all  the  faculties  ;  when  I  see 
how  simple  it  is  in  its  principle,  and  yet  in  how  many 
thousand  ways  it  mingles  in  with  human  affairs ,  and 
modifies  them  for  good,  so  that  it  is  adapted  to  become 
universal ;  when  I  see  it  giving  an  account  of  the  ter¬ 
mination  of  all  things,  worthy  of  God  and  consistent 
with  reason  ;  — to  me,  when  I  look  at  all  these  things, 
it  no  more  seems  possible  that  the  system  of  Christian¬ 
ity  should  have  been  originated  or  sustained  by  man, 
than  it  does  that  the  ocean  should  have  been  made  by 
him.  These  considerations,  however,  have  been  ad¬ 
duced  to  elucidate  that  phase  of  the  argument  by  which 
it  was  intended  to  show  that  the  religion  must  have 
come  from  God ;  and  I  shall  not  further  apply  them 
here  except  as  — 

Cardinal  points  taken  for  granted.  — I  observe,  that 
the  mon?  we  examine  the  state  of  opinions  among  the 


END  PROPOSED  BY  CHRISTIANITY. 


187 


Jews,  or  among  the  surrounding  nations,  at  the  time 
Christianity  arose,  the  greater  will  be  our  surprise  that 
it  should  be  what  it  is,  respecting  almost  all  those  car¬ 
dinal  points  which  it  does  not  so  much  reveal  as  take 
for  granted.  Such  are  the  unity  and  spirituality  of 
God,  his  holy  character,  the  spirituality  of  his  worship, 
his  paternal  relation  to  us,  the  doctrine  of  a  resurrec¬ 
tion  and  of  human  accountability.  The  most  of  these 
doctrines  are  not  so  much  systematically  taught,  as 
implied,  in  Christianity ;  and  they  are  not  only  consist¬ 
ent  with  reason,  but  are  essential  as  conditions  to  the 
end  which  Christianity  proposes  to  itself. 

End  impossible  to  an  enthusiast .  —  And  this  leads 
me  to  observe,  that  the  end  proposed  by  Christianity, 
distinctly  announced  from  the  first,  and  perseveringly 
adhered  to,  was  one  which  could  not  have  been  adopted 
either  by  an  enthusiast  or  an  impostor.  In  the  very  first 
annunciation  of  the  gospel,  it  was  said  by  the  angel, 
"  Thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus  ;  for  he  shall  save  his 
people  from  their  sins.”  Christ  himself  said  that  he 
came  "to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost”  — 
"that  the  world  through  him  might  be  saved.”  Peter 
calls  upon  men  to  "  repent,  and  be  baptized  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission  of  sins and,  again, 
to  "repent  and  be  converted,  that  their  sins  may  be 
blotted  out.”  Nothing  can  be  plainer  than  that  the 
great  end  of  Christianity  is  to  deliver  men  from  the 
power  and  the  consequences  of  sin  under  the  government 
of  God.  With  the  light  which  we  now  have,  we  can 
see  that  the  object  of  a  religion  from  God  must  be  to 
correct  the  state  of  the  heart ;  but  this  object  could 
never  have  been  adopted  by  enthusiasm.  It  is  not  of 
a  character  to  awaken  enthusiasm,  for  it  implies  a  recog¬ 
nition  of  guilt,  and,  moreover,  it  involves  a  clear  per¬ 
ception  of  the  deepest  and  most  fundamental  truth  on 
which  the  reformation  of  the  world  depends.  Before 


188 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


the  miseries  of  the  world  can  be  removed,  their  cause 
must  be  known ;  and  this  shows  an  insight  into  the 
cause  of  human  wretchedness  such  as  we  find  nowhere 
else.  Men  are  unhappy,  perhaps  wretched,  and  they 
impute  it  to  fate,  to  others,  to  the  want  of  wealth  or 
of  external  advantages,  or  to  the  constitution  of  society  ; 
but  Christianity  takes  it  for  granted  that  sin,  moral 
guilt,  is  the  true  cause,  the  cause  of  all  the  other 
causes,  of  the  unhappiness  of  man;  and  that,  in  saving 
him  from  this,  it  saves  him  from  every  thing  that  a 
rational  being  has  to  fear.  And  is  not  this  so  ?  Does 
not  man  bring  upon  himself,  by  his  sins,  the  greater 
part  of  the  evils  which  he  suffers?  Remove  war,  and 
the  fear  of  it ;  remove  dishonesty  of  every  kind ;  re¬ 
move  indolence,  and  intemperance,  and  licentiousness, 
and  envy,  and  detraction,  and  revenge,  and  pride,  and 
a  selfish  ambition,  —  and  let  the  virtues  opposite  to 
these  reign;  remove,  also,  those  apprehensions  and 
terrors  of  conscience,  and  that  fear  of  death,  which 
come  in  consequence  of  sin,  —  and  this  world  would 
become  comparatively  a  paradise.  Christianity,  then, 
strikes  at  the  true  cause  of  ail  the  miseries  of  man. 
Instead  of  endeavoring  to  check  or  control  particular 
streams  of  evil,  it  goes  at  once  to  the  fountain  whence 
all  those  streams  flow,  and  would  seal  that  up  forever. 
To  my  mind,  nothing  can  be  clearer  than  that  moral 
evil  is  the  true  cause  of  the  miseries  of  the  world ;  but 
can  this  deep,  and  sober,  and  philosophical  view  of  the 
cause  of  human  misery,  and  an  attempt  to  remove  it, 
be  the  product  of  enthusiasm?  Of  all  feelings,  a  con¬ 
sciousness  of  guilt  is  that  which  most  represses  enthu¬ 
siasm.  An  enthusiast,  therefore,  could  not  come  to 
those  only  who  would  acknowledge  themselves  guilty, 
and  call  them  to  the  unwelcome  duty  of  repentance, 
and  of  renouncing  cherished  indulgences  and  habits. 
He  could  not  say,  "  They  that  are  whole  need  not  a 


END  IMPOSSIBLE  TO  AN  IMPOSTOR. 


189 


physician,  but  they  that  are  sick ;  ”  "  I  am  not  come  to 
call  the  righteous,  but  sinners,  to  repentance.” 

Or  an  impostor. — But  if  such  an  object  could  not 
have  been  selected  by  an  enthusiast,  much  less  could  it 
have  been  by  an  impostor.  An  impostor  must  have  a 
personal  and  selfish  motive ;  but  suppose  this  object 
gained,  of  what  advantage  would  it  be  to  him?  Is  it 
not  a  contradiction  to  suppose  an  impostor  to  call  upon 
men  to  repent  of  all  sin,  when,  in  the  very  act  of  thus 
calling  upon  them,  he  is  guilty  of  one  of  the  blackest 
sins  of  which  man  is  capable  ?  And,  further,  an  impos¬ 
tor  estimates  the  chances  of  success.  But  let  any  man 
look  at  the  state  of  things  when  Christ  appeared,  and 
see  what  chance  there  could  have  been,  in  the  eye  of 
an  impostoiv that  such  an  object  should  succeed.  The 
great  doctrines  which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  repent¬ 
ance  were  but  very  imperfectly  known.  Superstition 
and  formality  had  almost  entirely  excluded  the  spirit 
of  any  true  religion,  whether  natural  or  revealed.  Sin, 
as  such,  was  not  disliked  or  deplored ;  and  if  in  any 
case  it  should  be,  the  Jews  had  a  mode  for  its  removal, 
as  they  supposed,  divinely  constituted,  and  with  which 
they  were  satisfied  ;  while  the  Gentiles  were  attached  to 
their  own  religions,  and  hated  and  despised  the  Jews. 
Now,  in  such  a  state  of  things,  for  an  impostor  —  a 
young  man  without  learning,  or  wealth,  or  influential 
friends ;  a  Jew,  who  would  naturally  have  shared  in 
the  prejudices  and  national  feelings  of  his  countrymen 
—  to  arise  and  call  upon  men  to  repent  of  sin  in  gen¬ 
eral,  and  believe  in  him ;  at  the  same  time  proposing 
no  definite  scheme,  either  political  or  ecclesiastical; 
directing  the  energies  of  his  followers  to  nothing  that 
could  gratify  their- ambition,  or  love  of  gain  or  pleas¬ 
ure,  on  earth ;  and  proposing  rewards,  hereafter,  that 
can  be  enjoyed  only  as  men  are  morally  good,  —  and 
yet  to  make  such  an  impression  upon  the  world  as  to 


190 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


overturn  systems  that  had  stood  forages,  —  does  seem 
to  me  far  more  improbable  than  any  miracle  recorded 
in  the  Bible.  The  disparity  between  the  means  em¬ 
ployed  and  the  effect  to  be  produced  would  not  be 
greater,  if  a  single,  unaided  man  should  attempt  to 
unseat  Mount  Atlas,  and  lift  it  from  its  bed.  In  mak¬ 
ing  it  its  object  to  remove  guilt,  and  to  rectify  the  state 
of  the  heart  before  God,  Christianity  stands  alone ;  and 
we  can  now  see  that  this  is  the  only  ultimate  object 
which  a  religion  from  God  could  propose.  To  my 
mind,  therefore,  the  simple  choice  of  this  object, 
requiring  such  breadth  and  accuracy  of  view,  so  im¬ 
possible  to  have  been  chosen  by  enthusiasm  or  impos¬ 
ture,  taken  in  connection  with  the  movement  produced 
by  Christianity,  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  it  originated 
with  God,  and  was  accompanied  by  a  divine  power. 

JVo  adaptation  to  prejudices.  —  But  perhaps  the  suc¬ 
cess  in  carrying  forward  this  object  may  be  accounted 
for  by  a  skillful  adaptation  of  some  features  of  the 
system  to  the  prejudices,  or  wants,  or  habits  of  thought, 
of  the  age.  Did  Christ,  then,  adapt  his  system  to  the 
prejudices  and  expectations  of  the  Jews  ?  So  far  from 
this,  nothing  could  have  been  more  strongly  opposed 
to  all  the  habits  of  thought  and  long-cherished  associ¬ 
ations  both  of  Jews  and  of  Gentiles.  This  point  has 
been  most  ably  presented  by  Bishop  Sumner,  of  whose 
labors  I  shall  avail  myself  in  the  particulars  I  shall 
adduce  respecting  it. 

Appealed  to  no  sect. — The  Jews  were  divided  into 
three  great  sects  —  the  Pharisees,  the  Sadducees,  and 
Essenes.  The  sentiments  and  modes  of  thought  of  the. 
first  two  are  sufficiently  known.  The  Essenes  were  a 
comparatively  small  sect,  professing  a  community  of 
goods  and  the  most  austere  celibacy.  Among  these 
sects  were  found  the  great  and  influential  men  of  the 


CHKISTIANITY  AND  THE  JEWISH  SYSTEM.  191 


nation  ;  but  neither  of  these  did  Christ  endeavor  in 
the  least  to  propitiate  ;  he  attacked  them  all  equally. 
With  the  general  tone  of  thought,  and  laxity  of  morals, 
of  the  Sadducees,  his  whole  system  was  in  direct  con¬ 
flict  ;  and  we  all  know  how  terrible  were  his  denuncia¬ 
tions  of  the  Pharisees  and  scribes,  as  hypocrites  and 
formalists,  and  as  having  put  false  glosses  upon  the 
law  of  God.  The  spirit  of  sect  is  among  the  most 
bitter  and  formidable  that  can  be  aroused ;  but,  instead 
of  taking  advantage  of  this,  or  of  commending  himself 
to  any  party,  Christ  armed  every  influence  that  could 
be  drawn  from  such  sources  against  himself. 

Opposed  the  whole  Jewish  system.  —  But,  though  the 
Jews  were  divided  into  sects,  there  were  many  points 
which  they  held  in  common  as  Jews,  and  which  were 
to  them  the  ground  of  a  strong  and  exclusive  national 
feeling.  If  we  can  suppose  it  possible  that  Christ  him¬ 
self  should  have  risen  superior  to  all  the  prejudices  and 
associations  of  his  nation,  yet,  if  we  look  at  him  either 
as  an  enthusiast  or  an  impostor,  we  can  not  suppose  he 
would  have  gone  counter  to  every  feeling  that  was 
strongly  and  distinctively  Jewish ;  much  less  can  we 
suppose  he  would  have  attempted  to  bring  to  an  end  a 
system  which  he  himself,  in  common  with  all  his  conn- 
trymen,  acknowledged  to  be  from  God,  and  to  the  rites 
of  which  he  conformed.  Yet  so  did  Christ. 

Jewish  notions  of  the  Messiah.  —  Hence  I  observe, 
that,  while  Christ  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah  expected 
by  the  Jews,  his  whole  appearance,  and  character,  and 
object,  were  totally  opposed  to  all  their  interpretations 
of  prophecy,  and  wishes,  and  long-cherished  anticipa¬ 
tions.  In  the  language  of  Sumner,  "  They  looked  for 
a  conqueror,  a  temporal  king,  and  had  been  accustomed 
to  interpret  in  this  sense  all  the  prophecies  which  fore¬ 
told  his  coming.  The  Jews  were  at  the  time  suffering 
under  a  foreign  yoke,  which  they  bore  with  great  unea- 


192 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


siness  and  impatience.  And  whether  we  suppose  Jesus 
to  have  been  an  impostor  or  enthusiast,  this  is  the 
character  which  he  would  naturally  assume.  If  he 
were  an  enthusiast,  his  mind  would  have  been  filled 
with  the  popular  belief,  and  his  imagination  fired  with 
the  national  ideas  of  victory  and  glory.  If  he  were  an 
impostor,  the  general  expectation  would  coincide  with 
the  only  motive  to  which  his  conduct  can  be  attributed 
—  ambition  and  the  desire  of  personal  aggrandizement. 
How,  then,  can  we  explain  his  rejecting,  from  the  first, 
and  throughout  his  whole  career,  all  the  advantage 
which  he  might  have  derived  from  the  previous  expec¬ 
tation  of  the  people,  and  even  his  turning  it  against 
himself  and  his  cause?  Why  should  he,  as  a  Jew, 
have  interpreted  the  prophetic  Scriptures  differently 
from  all  other  Jews?  Why  should  he,  as  an  impostor, 
have  deprived  himself  of  all  personal  benefit  from  his 
design  ?  ”  * 

Set  aside  the  ceremonial  law. — Again:  "No  feeling 
could  be  stronger,  or  better  founded,  than  the  venera¬ 
tion  of  the  Jews  for  the  Mosaic  law.  The  account  of 
its  origin  which  had  come  down  to  them  from  their 
ancestors ;  its  singularity ;  the  effect  that  singularity 
had  produced  in  establishing  a  wide  separation  between 
themselves  and  other  nations  ;  above  all,  the  important 
results  which  they  expected  from  obeying  it,  as  entitling 
them  to  the  favor  and  protection  of  God ;  all  these 
circumstances  united  to  render  that  attachment  to  their 
national  law,  which  is  common  among  every  people, 
inconceivably  strong  in  the  case  of  the  Jews.”  Yet 
Christ  said  to  these  same  Jews,  "  The  law  and  the 
prophets  were  until  John.”  Himself  acknowledging  its 
divine  origin,  he  yet  abrogated  the  ceremonial  law,  and 
put  new  interpretations  upon  the  moral  law.  Of  the 
distinction  between  these  he  had  the  most  accurate 


*  Sumner’s  Evidences,  chap.  ii. 


EXCLUSIVENESS  DESTROYED. 


193 


perception ;  for,  while  he  struck  down  the  one,  declar¬ 
ing  that  the  hour  had  come  in  which  men  need  no  longer 
worship  at  Jerusalem,  but  that  every  where  the  true 
worshipers  should  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in 
truth,  he  yet  declared  that  heaven  and  earth  should  pass 
away  sooner  than  one  jot  or  tittle  of  the  moral  law 
should  fail.  But  though  he  retained  the  law  as  the 
moral  code  of  the  universe,  he  yet  abrogated  it  so  far 
as  it  applied  exclusively  to  the  Jews,  and  in  all  those 
respects  in  which  it  was  chiefly  valued  by  them. 

Destroyed  exclusiveness .  — Further  :  "  It  was  a  favor¬ 
ite  belief  among  the  Jews,  confirmed  by  the  whole 
course  of  their  history,  that  their  nation  enjoyed  the 
exclusive  regard  and  protection  of  the  true  God.  But 
the  first  principle  of  the  Christian  religion  tended  to 
dislodge  the  Jews  from  these  high  pretensions,  and  to 
admit  all  other  nations,  indiscriminately,  within  the 
pale  of  God’s  church.” 

Jerusalem ,  the  temple.  —  And,  once  more  :  "  The  city 
of  Jerusalem  was  universally  believed  to  be  secure 
under  the  especial  care  of  God,  as  being  the  seat  of 
the  only  true  religion,  and  its  temple  consecrated  to 
his  peculiar  service  by  divine  institution  and  ancient 
usage.  Yet  Christ  and  his  disciples  declared  that  total 
destruction  was  quickly  approaching  both  the  temple 
and  the  city.” 

Neither  Jews  nor  Gentiles  conciliated.  —  Thus  Christ 
not  only  armed  against  himself  the  spirit  of  sect,  but 
also  that  peculiar  national  feeling  which  was  stronger 
among  the  Jews  than  among  any  other  people.  But 
while  he  did  this,  and  while  it  was  declared,  from  the 
first,  that  he  should  be  a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles, 
he  himself  never  went  among  the  Gentiles,  but  declared 
that  he  was  not  sent  but  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house 
of  Israel.  All  this,  we  may  safely  say,  neither  an 
enthusiast  nor  an  impostor  could  have  done. 


194 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Essential  to  a  universal  religion . — But,  while  the 
origin  of  Christianity  is  so  anomalous  and  inexplicable 
on  the  supposition  that  the  agents  were  actuated  by 
merely  human  motives,  every  thing  becomes  perfectly 
consistent  and  reasonable  the  moment  we  suppose  they 
were  the  agents  of  God  to  introduce  a  new  and  universal 
religion.  If  such  a  religion  was  to  be  introduced,  the 
whole  Jewish  economy  must  of  necessity  have  been 
removed.  But  was  a  Jewish  peasant,  unlettered  and 
untraveled,  going  up  with  his  countrymen  every  year 
to  Jerusalem,  the  person  to  see  this?  Was  he  to  have 
the  inconceivable  arrogance  to  assume  to  himself  the 
authority  to  remove  that  dispensation,  at  the  same  time 
that  he  admitted  it  to  be  from  God  ? 

If  an  impostor ,  Christ  not  the  author  of  Christianity . 
—  I  proceed  to  another  point :  Extraordinary  as  was 
the  character  of  Christ,  and  unaccountable  as  was  his 
conduct  while  he  was  alive,  yet,  if  we  suppose  him  to 
have  been  either  an  enthusiast  or  an  impostor,  there 
must  have  been  some  one  among  his  disciples,  after 
his  death,  whose  character  and  conduct  were  still  more 
extraordinary  and  unaccountable  ;  for  it  is  to  be  remem¬ 
bered  that,  on  this  supposition,  Christ  can  not,  with  any 
propriety,  be  said  to  be  the  originator  of  the  system 
which  bears  his  name.  This  is  a  point  not  sufficiently 
noticed,  if  indeed  it  has  been  noticed  at  all. 

It  will  not  be  denied  that  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  system.  It  did  so  in  the 
mind  of  Paul  when  he  wrote  to  the  Corinthians  that, 
if  Christ  were  not  raised,  their  faith  was  vain ;  and 
it  has  been  regarded  as  fundamental  by  Christians  ever 
since.  Did  Christ,  then,  or  did  he  not,  know  the  place 
which  his  death,  and  the  story  of  his  resurrection,  were 
to  have  in  the  Christian  system?  If  we  suppose  him 
to  have  been  any  thing  except  what  he  claimed  to  be, 


AUTHOR  OF  CHRISTIANITY - WHO? 


195 


he  could  not  have  known  this.  Without  the  gift  of 
prophecy,  he  could  not  have  known  that  the  Roman 
governor  would  sentence  him  to  death.  Besides,  it  is 
absurd  to  suppose  that  any  enthusiast  or  impostor  could 
frame  a  scheme  of  which  his  own  death  on  the  cross, 
and  a  story  of  his  resurrection,  to  be  started  and  sub¬ 
stantiated  by  others,  should  form  a  necessary  part. 
His  death  must,  then,  on  the  supposition  on  which  we 
are  arguing,  have  been  unexpected,  both  to  himself  and 
to  his  followers.  His  schemes,  whatever  they  were, 
must  have  perished  with  him ;  for  of  the  Christian 
system  as  contained  in  the  New  Testament,  involving 
his  own  death  and  resurrection,  he  could  by  no  possh 
bility  have  had  any  conception.  This  system  did  not 
become  possible  till  after  his  death.  Previous  to  that, 
the  very  foundation  of  it  had  no  existence,  nor  could 
it  even  have  had  if  his  death  had  not  been  public ;  for, 
otherwise,  his  death  would  not  have  been  certain,  and 
the  story  of  the  resurrection  would  have  excited  no 
attention. 

Who,  then,  was  that  man,  the  true  author  of  Chris- 
tianity,  of  quick  and  original  thought,  who,  in  that 
moment  when  the  Jews  supposed  they  had  triumphed, 
when  the  plans  of  Christ  himself,  whatever  they  were, 
had  failed,  saw,  from  the  very  fact  of  the  crucifixion, 
that  a  story  of  a  resurrection  might  be  framed,  and 
be  so  connected  with  the  former  life  and  instructions 
of  Christ,  and  with  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  as  to  form 
the  basis  of  a  new  religion?  Who  was  this  master¬ 
spirit, —  for  the  unity  of  the  system  shows  that  it  must 
have  been  the  product  of  one  mind, — who  was  so 
prompt  in  combining  the  fearful  fact  of  his  master’s 
execution,  and  the  strange  story  of  the  resurrection, 
with  his  former  life  and  teachings,  so  as  to  make  one 
connected  whole  ?  Who  rallied  the  dispersed  and  dis¬ 
heartened  disciples,  opened  to  them  his  plan  of  deception. 


196  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

assigned  to  each  his  part,  and  induced  them  to  stand 
firm  by  the  cause  even  unto  death?  Certainly,  if  Christ 
was  not  what  he  claimed  to  be,  there  was  some  one  con¬ 
cerned,  in  the  origin  of  the  Christian  system,  who  was 
a  greater  and  more  extraordinary  person  than  he,  and 
the  true  author  of  that  system  is  unknown. 

Scheme  impossible .  —  But  here  let  me  ask,  supposing 
such  a  scheme  to  have  been  originated,  whether  any 
person  of  common  sense  could  possibly  have  hoped  for 
its  success  ;  whether  any  but  madmen  could  have  been 
persuaded  to  engage  in  it.  For  what  was  the  scheme? 
It  was  nothing  less  than  to  persuade  all  mankind  to 
receive  one  as  a  Saviour,  and  to  believe  in  him  as  the 
final  Judge  of  the  world,  who,  they  themselves  acknowl¬ 
edged,  had  been  put  to  death  by  crucifixion  between 
two  thieves.  And,  in  order  to  realize  fully  what  this 
undertaking  was,  we  must  further,  first,  remember  how 
alien  from  all  the  habits  of  thought  among  the  Gentiles 
and  among  most  of  the  Jews,  how  utterly  improbable, 
the  story  of  a  resurrection  must  have  been ;  and,  sec¬ 
ondly,  we  must  divest  ourselves  of  all  the  associations 
which  we  have  gathered  around  the  cross,  and,  going 
back  to  that  period,  must  furnish  our  minds  with  those 
which  were  then  prevalent.  We  must  remember  that 
the  cross  was  not  only  an  instrument  of  public  execu¬ 
tion  peculiarly  dreadful,  but  also  peculiarly  ignominious  ; 
that  it  was  unlawful  to  put  a  Roman  citizen  to  death  in 
this  way ;  and  that  it  was  a  punishment  reserved  only 
to  slaves,  and  persons  of  the  lowest  description. 

And,  now,  with  these  facts  before  us,  I  ask  whether 
the  idea  of  the  resurrection  of  a  person  thus  put  to 
death,  and  of  his  exaltation  to  be  the  Saviour  of  men 
and  the  Judge  of  the  whole  earth,  occurring  to  a  per¬ 
son  without  any  manifestation  of  miraculous  power, 
is  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  human  thought ; 
whether  an  attempt  to  make  mankind  believe  such  a 


CREDULITY  OF  INFIDELS. 


191 


story,  and  to  cause  them  —  the  very  Jews  who  had 
just  crucified  him,  the  Gentiles  who  held  all  Jews  in 
contempt,  and  would  more  especially  despise  and  abhor 
a  crucified  Jew  — whether  the  attempt  to  cause  them 
to  forsake  their  own  religions,  and  to  acknowledge 
such  a  Saviour  and  Judge,  is  compatible  with  what 
we  know  of  the  laws  of  human  action.  Can  we  con¬ 
ceive  of  any  enthusiast  so  utterly  wild,  of  any  impostor 
so  utterly  foolish,  as  to  suppose  he  could  make  such 
a  story  and  such  a  proposition  the  basis  of  a  religion 
which  should  overthrow  all  others,  and  become  uni¬ 
versal?  Can  we  conceive,  not  onlv  that  such  an 
attempt  should  be  made,  but  that  it  should  succeed? 
The  man  who  can  believe  this,  can  believe  any  thing- 
What  an  astonishing  contrast  between  such  a  point  of 
departure  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  that  moment 
when  a  Roman  emperor  turned  his  expiring  eyes  to 
heaven,  and  said,  ”0  Galilean,  thou  hast  conquered!'' 

And  here,  again,  what  is  so  entirely  unaccountable 
if  we  exclude  divine  agency,  is  perfectly  accounted 
for  the  moment  we  allow  that  these  men  were  what 
they  claimed  to  be,  and  were  endowed  with  power 
from  on  high. 

Conduct  of  the  disciples.  — I  might  pursue  this  train 
of  thought  at  great  length,  applying  it  to  the  conduct 
of  the  disciples  individually  and  as  a  body,  and  partic¬ 
ularly  to  the  conversion  and  subsequent  course  of  the 
apostle  Paul.  I  think  it  can  be  shown,  on  the  suppose 
tion  of  imposture  or  enthusiasm,  —  and  no  other  is 
possible  without  admitting  the  truth  of  the  religion,  — * 
that  the  conduct  of  these  men  was  as  contrary  to  known 
and  established  laws  of  human  action  as  any  miracle 
can  be  to  the  laws  of  nature. 

Jewish  and  Christian  system  —  would  not  have  been 
connected.  —  But  I  proceed  to  observe  that  no  enthu¬ 
siast  or  impostor  either  would  or  could  have  effected 

N 


t 


198 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


that  peculiar  connection,  doctrinal,  typical,  and  prophet¬ 
ical,  which  exists  between  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian 
religion.  This  no  man  would  have  done.  For  while, 
as  I  have  just  shown,  they  rejected  so  much,  and  such 
parts,  of  the  system  as  would  excite  to  the  utmost  the 
hostility  of  the  Jews,  they  yet  declared  it  to  be  identical 
in  spirit  with  the  Jewish  religion,  and  thus  presented 
themselves  at  a  great  disadvantage  before  the  Gentiles. 
Accordingly,  we  find  the  Roman  magistrates  speaking 
in  the  most  contemptuous  manner  of  the  whole  thing, 
as  being  a  question  of  Jewish  superstition.  Thus 
Festus,  giving  an  account  of  Paul’s  case  to  Agrippa, 
said,  "Against  whom,  when  the  accusers  stood  up, 
they  brought  none  accusation  of  such  things  as  I  sup¬ 
posed,  but  had  certain  questions  against  him  of  their 
own  superstition,  and  of  one  Jesus,  which  was  dead, 
whom  Paul  affirmed  to  be  alive.”  So,  also,  when 
Gallio  was  the  deputy  of  Achaia,  and  the  Jews  brought 
Paul  before  him,  and  he  was  about  to  defend  himself, 
Gallio  said  unto  the  Jews,  "If  it  were  a  matter  of 
wrong  or  wicked  lewdness,  O  ye  Jews,  reason  would 
that  I  should  bear  with  you  ;  but  if  it  be  a  question 
of  words  and  names,  and  of  your  law,  look  ye  to  it ; 
for  I  will  lie  no  judge  of  such  matters.  And  he  drave 
them  from  the  judgment  seat.  Then  all  the  Greeks 
took  Sosthenes,  the  chief  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  and 
beat  him  before  the  judgment  seat.  And  Gallio  cared 
for  none  of  those  things.”  This  feeling  was  perfectly 
natural,  and  the  author  or  authors  of  Christianity  must 
have  known  it  would  be  excited  if  such  a  connection 
was  retained  between  the  new  religion  and  that  of  the 
Jews.  The  course  pursued,  therefore,  was  apparently 
the  most  impolitic  that  could  have  been  adopted, 
whether  the  feelings  of  the  Jews  or  of  the  Gentiles 
were  regarded. 

Could  not  have  been. — But  this  is  not  the  point  of 


IMPOSSIBILITY  OF  IMPOSTURE. 


199 


the  greatest  difficulty.  No  impostor,  or  enthusiast, 
could  have  adopted  such  a  course,  if  he  would.  For, 
first,  no  human  wisdom  could  have  taken  the  Jewish 
system,  complicated  as  it  was,  and  have  drawn  the  line 
with  a  judgment  so  unerring  between  those  things 
which  ought  to  be  rejected  and  those  which  might  be 
retained ;  between  those  things  which  would,  and  those 
which  would  not,  harmonize  with  the  new  system. 
And,  secondly,  that  a  system  depending  so  much  upon 
facts  over  which  the  authors  of  it  had  no  control,  such 
as  the  place  of  Christ’s  birth,  and  the  time  and  manner 
of  his  death  —  a  system  that  had  never  before  been 
thought  of,  or  provided  for  —  a  system  springing  up  at 
a  particular  juncture  from  enthusiasm  or  imposture, — 
should  have  so  many  correspondences  with  a  system 
originated  thousands  of  years  before,  that  the  attempt 
should  be  universally  made  to  convert  the  Jews  by 
reasoning  out  of  their  own  Scriptures,  showing  that 
"so  it  was  written,”  —  and  that  such  a  book  as  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  could  be  written, — is,  to  my 
mind,  inconceivable.  Nor  is  it  less  inconceivable  —  what 
I  have  spoken  of  in  a  former  lecture  —  that  man  should 
invent  a  system  which  would  permit  its  advocates  to 
pass  from  the  Jewish  synagogue,  where  their  whole 
argument  had  been  based  on  the  Old  Testament  Scrip¬ 
tures,  into  a  company  of  Athenian  philosophers,  and, 
with  the  same  confidence,  and  freedom,  and  power, 
argue  with  them  from  the  book  of  nature,  and  the 
moral  constitution  and  wants  of  man.  Nothing  can  be 
more  striking  than  the  contrast  between  Paul’s  speech 
on  Mars  Hill  and  that  recorded  in  the  thirteenth  of 
Acts,  in  a  Jewish  synagogue  at  Antioch,  or  even  that 
before  Agrippa,  in  which  he  made  the  appeal,  "  King 
Agrippa,  believest  thou  the  prophets?” 

On  the  whole,  then,  laying  aside  those  analogies 
and  adaptations  by  which  it  is  shown  that  Christianity 


200 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


must  have  come  from  God,  and  taking  only  the  par¬ 
ticulars  adduced  in  this  lecture,  have  we  not  reason 
to  conclude  that  it  could  not  have  been  originated  by 
man? 

The  hooks. — I  have  thus  far  spoken  chiefly  of  the 
system  of  Christianity.  I  shall  devote  the  remainder 
of  this  lecture  to  the  consideration  of  some  points  of 
evidence  drawn  from  the  books  in  which  its  records  and 
doctrines  are  contained  —  confining  myself,  however,  to 
such  as  must  be  judged  of  in  the  same  way  as  those 
which  we  have  been  considering.  These  books  open  to 
us  a  field  of  such  evidence  as  every  man  of  good  sense 
and  candor  can  judge  of,  scarcely  less  extensive  and 
rich  than  the  system  itself ;  but  to  this  my  time  will 
permit  me  but  briefly  to  refer. 

I  observe,  then,  in  accordance  with  the  general  scope 
of  this  lecture,  that  no  impostor,  or  enthusiast,  either 
would,  or  could,  have  written  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament. 

JVo  motive  for  a  forgery.  —  And,  first,  no  such  person 
would  have  written  them ;  for  they  are  of  such  a  char¬ 
acter  that  it  is  impossible  to  assign  a  motive  for  a 
forgery.  The  motive  could  not  have  been  gain.  For 
what  is  the  relation  of  these  books  to  Christianitv  ? 
Plainly,  they  presuppose  its  existence.  To  suppose 
that  the  books  themselves,  coming  out  as  a  mere  bald, 
naked  fiction,  could  have  been  received  by  both  Jews 
and  Gentiles,  and  have  worked  a  revolution  in  society, 
and  that,  too,  in  an  age  when  printing  was  unknown, 
and  the  number  and  influence  of  books  were  compar¬ 
atively  small,  is  absurd.  Christianity  must,  then,  have 
sprung  up,  and  spread  more  or  less  extensively,  and 
then  the  books  must  have  been  written  to  give  an 
account  of  its  origin  and  progress.  If,  then,  gain  had 
been  the  object,  it  was  necessary  to  Avrite  an  account 


MOTIVE  NOT  FAME  OR  POWER. 


201 


that  could  not  be  discredited.  No  forgery  could  have 
escaped  both  neglect  and  contempt. 

Not  fame. — Nor  could  the  motive  have  been  fame. 
No  one,  from  reading  the  Gospel  of  Matthew,  would 
suspect  who  the  author  was.  He  speaks  of  himself 
very  little,  and  mentions  that  he  belonged  to  a  class 
who  were  despised  and  hated  by  the  Jews.  Would 
any  man,  could  any  man,  compose  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  —  a  production,  for  its  beauty,  and  majestic 
simplicity,  and  morality,  unequaled  since  the  world 
stood — -for  tame,  and  then  ascribe  it  to  a  fictitious 
person,  or  one  whom  he  knew  to  be  an  impostor? 

Nor  power.  — Nor  could  his  motive  have  been  power 
or  influence.  No  book  was  ever  more  unskillfully  con¬ 
structed  for  such  a  purpose.  It  had  no  connection  with 
politics  or  parties,  nor  does  it  contain  any  thing  to 
give  distinction  or  influence  to  its  author.  What,  then, 
could  have  induced  a  man  capable  of  surpassing,  as  a 
moralist  and  as  a  deep  thinker,  all  the  philosophers  of 
antiquity,  to  conceal  himself  entirely  behind  an  impos¬ 
tor?  How  could  he  have  induced  the  world  to  mistake 
that  impostor  for  himself? 

The  Epistles. — And  what  is  thus  true  of  the  Gos¬ 
pels,  and  of  the  Acts,  is  equally  true  of  the  Epistles. 
Indeed,  there  are  some  circumstances  which  would  seem 
to  render  a  forgery  of  these  peculiarly  improbable.  If 
I  were  to  select  the  last  form  in  which  a  forgery  would 
be  likely  to  come  before  the  world,  it  would  be  this. 
These  are  extraordinary  productions,  and  it  is  incon¬ 
ceivable  that  any  man  should  introduce  them  into  the 
world  by  the  fiction  of  addressing  them  to  a  church, 
and  should  connect  such  admirable  sentiments  with  the 
details  of  their  peculiar  difficulties,  and  with  salutations 
addressed  to  many  persons  by  name.  Let  any  man  read 
the  last  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  (which 
is  almost  entirely  made  up  of  greetings  and  saluta- 


202 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


tions,)  and  ask  himself  if  it  is  possible  that  any  man, 
writing  a  letter  for  the  purpose  of  deception,  could  have 
written  it.  Observe  his  particularity.  Not  only  does 
Paul  himself  salute  many  persons,  but  Timotheus,  his 
work-fellow,  is  joined  with  him,  and  Lucius,  and  Jason, 
and  Sosipater,  his  kinsman,  and  Tertius,  who  wrote  the 
Epistle,  and  Gaius,  his  host,  and  Erastus,  the  chamber- 
lain  of  the  city,  and  Quartus,  a  brother. 

If,  however,  it  should  be  said  that  there  were  for¬ 
geries  afterward,  I  reply,  that  all  great  originals,  all 
genuine  articles  of  great  value,  present  temptations  to 
imitation  and  forgery,  but  there  is  no  such  temptation 
to  forge  the  original  work.  No  instance  of  such  a 
forgery  can  be  adduced. 

Could  not  have  been  forged.  — The  strong  point  here, 
however,  is,  that  no  enthusiast  or  impostor  could  have 
forged  these  books.  This  is  manifest  from  the  marks 
of  honesty  which  they  bear  upon  their  face.  It  is  with 
books  as  with  men.  Without  stating  to  ourselves  the 
ground  of  it,  we  all  form  a  judgment  of  the  character 
of  men  from  their  appearance.  There  is  in  some  men 
an  appearance  of  openness,  and  candor,  and  fairness, 
in  all  they  do  and  say,  which  can  hardly  be  mistaken. 
There  is  often  something  in  the  appearance  and  modes 
of  statement  of  a  witness  on  the  stand,  there  are  cer¬ 
tain  undefmable  but  very  appreciable  marks  of  honesty 
or  of  dishonesty,  which  will  and  ought  to  go  very  fir, 
with  one  who  has  been  accustomed  to  observe  men 
under  such  circumstances,  in  fixing  the  character  of  his 
testimony.  Now,  this  is  remarkably  the  case  with  the 
writings  of  the  New  Testament.  We  can  not  read  a 
chapter  without  feeling  that  we  are  dealing  with  real¬ 
ities.  The  writers  show  no  consciousness  of  any  possi¬ 
bility  that  their  statements  should  be  doubted.  They 
have  the  air  of  persons  who  state  things  perfectly  well 
known.  They  express  no  wonder ;  they  do  not  seem 


NARRATIVES  MINUTE. 


203 


to  expect  that  their  statements,  extraordinary  as  they 
are,  will  excite  any;  they  enter  into  no  explanations, 
attempt  to  remove  or  evade  no  difficulties ;  they  speak 
freely  of  their  own  faults  and  weaknesses ;  they  flatter 
no  one  ;  they  express  no  malice  toward  any.  There  is 
no  ambition  of  fine  writing,  no  special  pleading,  no 
attempt  to  conceal  circumstances  apparently  unfavorable 
—  as  the  agony  of  Christ  in  the  garden,  so  liable  to  be 
imputed  to  weakness ;  the  fact  that  he  was  forsaken  of 
God  on  the  cross,  that  Peter  denied  him,  and  that  the 
disciples  forsook  him  and  fled.  Their  narratives  are 
minute,  circumstantial,  graphic,  giving  the  names  of 
persons  and  the  time  and  the  place  of  events.  At  every 
step  they  lay  themselves  open  to  detection  if  their  ac¬ 
counts  are,  I  will  not  say  fabrications,  but  false  in  any 
respect.  Do  they  give  us  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount? 
They  tell  us  tnat  multitudes  heard  it.  Do  they  give  an 
account  of  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus  ?  They  give  the 
place  and  the  family,  and  state  its  effects  upon  different 
classes  of  persons.  Do  they  speak  of  the  Roman  gov¬ 
ernor,  or  of  the  high  priest?  They  mention  his  name. 
There  is  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  and  Capernaum,  and  Jeru¬ 
salem,  and  the  temple  with  its  goodly  stones.  There 
are  the  Jewish  feasts,  and  their  sects,  and  traditions. 
Every  thing  is  thoroughly  Jewish,  and  still  there  is  the 
publican  and  the  Roman  soldier.  All  these  seem  to 
stand  before  us  with  the  distinctness  of  life  —  not  by 
the  force  of  rhetorical  painting,  but  by  the  simple  nar¬ 
ration  of  truth. 

Number  of  the  books  —  discrepancies.  —  The  chief 
difficulty,  however,  in  fabricating  these  books,  would 
not  have  been  in  giving  them  singly  an  air  of  truth, 
however  striking  and  life-like,  but  in  constructing  so 
many  of  them  with  such  numerous  and  incidental  marks 
of  correspondence  as  to  negative  entirely  the  supposi¬ 
tion  of  imposture.  And  here  it  ought  to  be  observed, 


204 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


that  the  number  of  books  is  itself  a  strong  reason  for 
supposing  that  there  was  no  imposture.  An  imposture 
would  naturally  have  appeared  in  one  well-considered 
and  well-guarded  account.  So  have  all  impostures  of 
the  kind  appeared.  The  Koran  was  wholly  written  by 
one  man.  So  was  the  Mormon  Bible.  But  here  we 
have  twenty-seven  books,  or  letters,  written  by  eight 
different  men,  each  implying  the  truth  of  most  of  the 
others,  and,  as  they  stand,  giving  an  opportunity  for 
comparison,  and  for  what  the  lawyers  would  call  cross- 
questioning,  which  must  have  proved  fatal  to  any  fabri¬ 
cation,  and  to  which  imposture  was  never  known  to 
subject  itself.  We  have  four  independent  histories  of 
Christ.  Between  these  there  are  a  few  apparent  dis¬ 
crepancies  respecting  minor  points,  such  as  will  always 
occur  when  independent  witnesses  state  their  own 
impressions  respecting  a  series  of  events.  These  lie 
for  the  most  part  on  the  surface,  are  such  as  might  have 
been  easily  avoided,  and  such  as  imposture  certainly 
would  have  avoided.  Thev  show  that  the  witnesses 
were  independent,  that  there  was  no  collusion  between 
them ;  while  the  points  of  agreement  are  so  many,  and 
of  such  a  character,  as  can  be  accounted  for  only  on 
the  supposition  of  truth. 

Conscious  security  of  truth.  — Of  the  advantages  thus 
furnished,  the  opposers  of  Christianity  have  eagerly 
availed  themselves ;  but  they  are  careful  not  to  state, 
if,  indeed,  they  reflect,  that  the  very  fact  that  these 
advantages  are  thus  gratuitously  furnished  shows  the 
conscious  security  of  truth,  and  affords  the  strongest 
possible  presumption  that  nothing  can  be  made  of  them. 
The  discrepancies  are  few  in  number,  and  may  be  rec¬ 
onciled  ;  while  the  coincidences,  evidently  undesigned, 
between  the  four  Gospels,  and  between  the  Gospels  and 
the  Acts,  are  so  numerous  as  to  have  been  collected, 

by  Mr.  Blunt,  into  a  volume. 

*/  ' 


UNDESIGNED  COINCIDENCES. 


205 


The  Acts ,  and  the  Epistles  of  Paul.  — But,  as  if  to 
furnish  the  best  possible  opportunity  for  this  species 
of  proof,  we  have  the  history  of  the  apostle  Paul  stated 
fully  and  circumstantially  in  the  Acts ;  and  then  we 
have  thirteen  letters  of  the  same  apostle,  purporting  to 
have  been  written  during  the  period  covered  by  the 
history.  If,  therefore,  the  history  and  the  letters  are 
both  genuine,  we  should  expect  to  find  the  same  gen¬ 
eral  character  ascribed  to  the  apostle  in  the  history  that 
is  indicated  by  his  letters  ;  we  should  expect  to  find  in 
the  letters  numerous  minute  and  undesigned  references, 
such  as  could  not  be  counterfeited,  to  the  facts  stated 
in  the  history.  And  all  this  we  do  find.  The  character 
of  Paul  was  strongly  marked,  and  no  one  can  doubt 
whether  the  Epistles  ascribed  to  him  were  written  by 
such  a  man  as  he  is  described  in  the  history  to  have 
been.  How  different  are  the  characters  of  Paul,  of 
Peter,  and  of  John !  and  yet  how  perfectly  do  the 
writings  ascribed  to  each  correspond  with  his  character  ! 
If  the  history  had  given  us  an  account  of  a  person  like 
John,  and  then  these  letters  had  been  ascribed  to  him, 
how  differently  would  our  evidence  have  stood  ! 

Horae  Paulinos .  —  But  the  argument  from  the  coin¬ 
cidences  between  the  different  Epistles,  and  between 
the  Epistles  and  the  Acts,  has  been  presented  in  a  full 
and  masterly  manner  by  Paley,  in  his  Horse  Paulin®,  a 
book  to  which,  so  far  as  I  know,  infidels  have  judged 
it  wise  not  to  attempt  an  answer.  In  this  argument, 
Paley  does  not  notice  those  coincidences  which  are 
direct  and  striking,  and  which  might  have  been  fabri¬ 
cated  ;  but  those  which  are  evidently  undesigned,  which 
are  remote  and  circuitous,  and  so  woven  into  the  web 
that  the  supposition  of  art  or  imposture  is  impossible. 
This  argument  is  best  illustrated  by  examples.  Thus 
we  find,  in  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  the  fol¬ 
lowing  passage  :  Even  unto  this  present  hour  we  both 


206 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


hunger  and  thirst,  and  are  naked,  and  are  buffeted, 
and  have  no  certain  dwelling-place  ;  and  labor,  work¬ 
ing  with  our  own  hands.”  We  are  expressly  told,  in 
the  history,  that  at  Corinth  St.  Paul  labored  with  his 
own  hands:  "He  found  Aquila  and  Priscilla;  and, 
because  he  was  of  the  same  craft,  he  abode  with  them, 
and  wrought ;  for  by  their  occupation  they  were  tent- 
makers.”  But,  in  the  text  before  us,  he  is  made  to  say 
that  he  labored  "  even  unto  this  present  hour,”  that  is, 
to  the  time  of  writing  the  Epistle,  at  Ephesus.  Now, 
in  the  narration  of  St.  Paul’s  transactions  at  Ephesus, 
delivered  in  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  the  Acts,  nothing 
is  said  of  his  working  with  his  own  hands ;  but  in  the 
twentieth  chapter  we  read  that,  upon  his  return  from 
Greece,  he  sent  for  the  elders  of  the  church  at  Ephesus 
to  meet  him  at  Miletus  ;  and  in  the  discourse  which  he 
there  addressed  to  them  we  find  the  following  :  "  I 
have  coveted  no  man’s  silver,  or  gold,  or  apparel ;  yea, 
ye  yourselves  know,  that  these  hands  have  ministered 
unto  my  necessities,  and  to  them  that  were  with  me,” 
That  manual  labor,  therefore,  which  he  had  exercised 
at  Corinth,  he  continued  at  Ephesus ;  and  not  only 
so,  but  continued  it  during  that  particular  residence  at 
Ephesus,  near  the  conclusion  of  which  this  Epistle  was 
written  ;  so  that  he  might,  with  the  strictest  truth,  say, 
at  the  time  of  writing  the  Epistle,  "even  unto  this 
present  hour,  we  labor,  working  with  our  own  hands.” 
"The  correspondency  is  sufficient,  then,  as  to  the  unde¬ 
signedness  of  it.  It  is  manifest  to  my  judgment  that, 
if  the  history  in  this  article  had  been  taken  from  the 
Epistle,  this  circumstance,  if  it  appeared  at  all,  would 
have  appeared  in  its  place  —  that  is,  in  the  direct  ac¬ 
count  of  St.  Paul’s  transactions  at  Ephesus.  Nor  is  it 
likely,  on  the  other  hand,  that  a  circumstance  which 
is  not  extant  in  the  history  of  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus 
should  have  been  made  the  subject  of  a  factitious 


UNDESIGNED  COINCIDENCES. 


207 


allusion  in  an  Epistle  purporting  to  be  written  by  him 
from  that  place  ;  not  to  mention  that  the  allusion  itself, 
especially  as  to  time,  is  too  oblique  and  general  to 
answer  any  purpose  of  forgery  whatever. 

Again  we  find,  in  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Thessa- 
lonians,  iii.  8,  "Neither  did  we  eat  any  man’s  bread  for 
naught ;  but  wrought  with  labor,  night  and  day,  that 
we  might  not  be  chargeable  to  any  of  you  ;  not  because 
we  have  not  power,  but  to  make  ourselves  an  ensample 
unto  you  to  follow  us.”  Here,  again,  his  conduct  — 
and,  what  is  much  more  precise,  the  end  which  he  had 
in  view  by  it  —  is  the  very  same  which  the  history 
attributes  to  him  in  this  discourse  to  the  elders  of 
the  church  at  Ephesus;  for,  after  saying,  "Yea,  ye 
yourselves  know,  that  these  hands  have  ministered  unto 
my  necessities,  and  to  them  that  were  with  me,”  he 
adds,  "I  have  showed  you  all  things,  how  that,  so  labor¬ 
ing ,  ye  ought  to  support  the  weak”  "  The  sentiment  in 
the  Epistle  and  in  the  speech  is,  in  both  parts  of  it,  so 
much  alike,  and  yet  the  words  which  convey  it  show 
so  little  of  imitation,  or  even  of  resemblance,  that  the 
agreement  can  not  well  be  explained  without  supposing 
the  speech  and  the  letter  to  have  really  proceeded  from 
the  same  person.” 

Do  we  find  Paul  saying  abruptly,  and  without  ex¬ 
planation,  to  Timothy,  "Let  not  a  widow  be  taken  into 
the  number  under  threescore  years  old  ”  ?  We  also 
find,  from  the  Acts,  that  provision  w7as  made,  from  the 
first,  for  the  indigent  widows  who  belonged  to  the 
Christian  church.  Does  he  say  to  Timothy  that  from 
a  child  he  had  known  the  Holy  Scriptures  ?  The  Acts 
tells  us  that  his  mother  was  a  Jewess.  Do  wTe  hear  him 
exhorting  the  Corinthians  not  to  despise  Timothy?  We 
hear  him  saying  to  Timothy  himself,  "Let  no  man 
despise  thy  youth ;  ”  and  again,  "  Flee  also  youthful 
lusts.”  Does  Paul,  in  the  Epistle  to  Timothy,  refer 


^08  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

particularly  to  tlie  afflictions  which  came  unto  him  at 
Antioch,  at  Iconium,  and  at  Lystra?  We  find  from  the 
history,  in  the  most  indirect  way  imaginable,  that  Tim¬ 
othy  must  have  lived  in  one  of  those  cities,  and  have 
been  converted  at  the  time  of  those  persecutions.  Does 
Paul,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  ask  their  prayers 
that  he  might  be  delivered  from  them  that  did  not 
believe,  in  Judea?  We  hear  him  saying,  in  the  Acts, 
with  reference  to  the  same  journey,  "  And  now,  behold, 
I  go  bound  in  the  spirit  unto  Jerusalem,  not  knowing 
the  things  that  shall  befall  me  there ;  save  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  witnesseth  in  every  city,  saying  that  bonds 
and  afflictions  abide  me.”  Do  we  hear  him,  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  commending  to  them  Phoebe,  a 
servant  of  the  church  at  Cenchrea?  We  find,  from  the 
history,  that  Paul  had  been  at  Cenchrea,  only  from  the 
following  passage  :  "  Having  shorn  his  head  in  Cen¬ 

chrea,  for  he  had  a  vow.”  Of  such  coincidences  Paley 
has  pointed  out,  perhaps,  a  hundred,  and  he  has  by  no 
means  exhausted  the  subject.* 

And  not  only  do  we  find  Epistles  directed  to  churches, 
—  the  last  species  of  composition  that  an  original  im¬ 
postor,  whether  we  suppose  that  the  church  did  or  did 
not  exist  at  the  time,  could  have  thought  of  fabricating, 

- — but  we  have,  in  more  than  one  instance,  two  letters 
addressed  to  the  same  church,  the  last  having  all  that 
reference  to  the  first  that  we  should  expect.  We  find 
it  also  directed,  that  the  letter  to  one  church  should  be 
read  in  another ;  we  find  it  implied  that  one  of  the 
churches  had  written  to  the  apostle,  and  his  letter  is 
partly  in  reply  to  theirs  ;  we  find  such  points  discussed 
as  would  naturally  have  arisen  in  societies  constituted 
as  Christian  churches  must  then  have  been  ;  and,  finally, 
we  find  a  strength  of  personal  feeling,  a  depth  of 
tenderness  and  interest,  a  promptness  in  bestowing 


*  Hor®  Paulin®,  passim. 


SUMMARY. 


209 


deserved  censure,  a  tone  of  authority,  and  a  fullness  of 
commendation,  which  could  have  sprung  only  from  the 
transactions  of  actual  life.  Am  I  not,  then,  even  from 
this  view  of  their  internal  evidence,  so  briefly  and 
imperfectly  presented,  justified  in  the  assertion  that 
no  impostor  either  would,  or  could,  have  fabricated 
these  books? 

Conclusion.  —  And  now,  whether  we  look  at  the 
relations  which  Christianity  must  have  sustained  either 
to  the  Jews  or  to  the  Gentiles;  at  the  course  pursued 
either  by  Christ  himself  or  by  the  apostles ;  at  the  con¬ 
nection  between  the  Christian  and  the  Jewish  system ; 
or  at  the  impossibility  of  fabricating  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament,  —  I  think  we  may  reasonably  con¬ 
clude  that  this  religion,  and  these  books,  did  not 
originate  with  man. 


LECTURE  VIII. 

ARGUMENT  TENTH:  THE  CONDITION,  CHARACTER,  AND  CLAIMS 

OF  CHRIST. 

Thus  far,  we  have  attended  to  the  system  of  Chris¬ 
tianity,  to  its  marvelous  adaptations,  and  to  the 
impossibility  that  it  should  have  come  from  man.  We 
now  turn  from  the  system  to  its  Author.  Who  was  the 
author  of  this  system?  What  were  his  condition,  his 
claims,  and  his  character?  We  have  already  seen  that 
the  object  he  proposed,  and  the  system  he  taught,  are 
worthy  of  God,  and  correspond  perfectly  with  the 
nature  of  man.  But,  were  his  condition  in  life,  the 
claims  he  preferred,  and  the  character  he  sustained, 
such  as  we  can  now  see  ought  to  have  belonged  to  one 
who  claimed  the  si3iritual  headship  of  the  race  ?  Is  it 
possible  that  he  should  have  been  an  impostor  ?  Do  we 
not  find,  meeting  in  him  alone,  so  many  things  that  are 
extraordinary,  as  to  forbid  that  supposition?  These 
questions  it  will  be  the  object  of  the  present  lecture  to 
answer. 

Basis  of  the  argument.  — And  if  there  is  any  subject 
to  which  we  can  apply,  not  only  the  tests  of  logic,  but 
the  decisions  of  intuitive  reason,  and  of  all  the  higher 
instincts  of  our  common  humanity,  it  is  the  condition 
in  life,  and  teachings,  and  proposed  object,  and  char¬ 
acter,  of  one  who  presents  himself  with  the  claims  put 

forth  by  Jesus  Christ.  We  have  an  intuitive  insight 

(210) 


CJHRIST  CLAIMS  AFFECTION. 


211 


into  character.  We  have,  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
large  experience  of  it  in  all  its  combinations.  We  are 
all  capable,  when  our  moral  nature  is  quickened,  of 
judging  whether  the  character  of  one  who  claims  the 
homage  both  of  the  understanding  and  of  the  heart  is 
in  accordance  with  such  a  claim.  ”1  know  men,”  said 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,  "  and  I  tell  you  that  Jesus  Christ 
was  not  a  man.”  We  also  know  men,  and,  presented 
as  Christ  is  to  us  by  the  evangelists,  not  by  description 
or  eulogy,  but  standing  before  us  in  his  actions  and 
discourses,  so  that  he  seems  to  live  and  to  speak,  we 
feel  that  we  can  judge  whether  he  bore  the  true  insignia 
of  his  office  or  the  marks  of  an  impostor.  If  his  claim 
had  been  to  any  thing  else,  it  would  be  different.  A 
claim  to  property,  or  to  external  homage,  or  to  belief 
in  a  particular  case,  may  be  substantiated  by  external 
testimony ;  but  when  any  being  claims  that  I  should 
believe  a  thing  because  he  says  it,  —  when  he  claims  an 
affection  from  me  greater  than  that  which  I  owe  to 
father,  or  mother,  or  brothers,  or  sisters,  or  wife,  or 
children,  —  I  not  only  do  not,  but  X  can  not,  and  I  ought 
not  to,  yield  this  confidence  and  affection  on  the  ground 
of  any  external  testimony.  There  must  be  presented 
an  object  of  moral  affection  which  shall  commend  itself 
as  worthy,  to  my  immediate  perception,  before  I  can 
do  this.  We  can  not  yield  our  affections  except  to 
perceived  excellence ;  and,  since  no  man  becomes  a 
Christian  who  does  not  make  Christ  himself  an  object 
of  affection,  it  is  plain  that  his  character,  as  well  as  his 
teaching,  is  a  point  of  primary  importance. 

Christianity  unique.  —  Character  of  Christ  central.  — 
And  here,  again,  as  in  every  thing  else,  Christianity 
stands  by  itself.  If  other  systems  are,  to  some  extent, 
vulnerable  through  the  character  of  their  authors,  no 
other  presents  its  very  heart  to  be  thus  pierced.  In 
an  abstract  system  of  philosophy,  we  do  not  inquire 


212 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


what  the  character  of  its  author  was.  The  truth  of 
the  system  of  Plato,  or  of  Adam  Smith,  or  of  Jeremy 
Bentham,  does  not  depend  on  the  question  whether 
they  were  good  or  bad  men ;  but  if  it  could  be  shown 
that  Christ  was  a  bad  man, — nay,  if  we  were  simply 
to  withdraw  his  character  and  acts,  —  the  whole  system 
would  collapse  at  once.  His  character  stands  as  the 
central  orb  of  the  system,  and  without  it  there  would 
be  no  effectual  light  and  no  heat.  This  arises  from  two 
causes.  The  first  is  the  very  striking  peculiarity,  — 
which,  in  considering  the  evidences,  has  not  been  enough 
noticed, — that  the  Author  of  Christianity  claims,  not 
merely  belief,  but  affection.  What  would  have  been 
thought  of  Socrates,  or  Plato,  if  they  had  not  merely 
taught  mankind,  but  if  they  and  their  disciples  had 
set  up  a  claim  that  they  should  be  loved  by  the  whole 
human  race  with  an  affection  exceeding  that  of  kin¬ 
dred?  This  affection  Christ  claimed,  and  his  disciples 
claimed  it  for  him.  Paul  says,  "If  any  man  love  not 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  anathema,  mara- 
natha,”  making  the  mere  absence  of  the  love  a  crime. 
But  if  he  is  to  be  thus  loved  by  all  men,  he  must  first 
place  himself  in  the  relation  to  them  of  a  personal 
benefactor,  and  then,  by  the  very  laws  of  affection,  he 
must  present  a  character  which  ought  to  call  forth  their 
love.  The  second  cause  why  the  character  of  Christ  is 
so  essential  is,  that  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  world 
power  is  manifested,  and  movement  is  effected,  only  by 
action.  A  moral  system  must,  indeed,  like  any  thing 
else,  be  the  object  of  the  intellect;  but  no  abstract 
system  of  moral  truth,  no  precepts  merely  enunciated, 
but  not  embodied  and  manifested  in  actual  life,  could 
ever  have  been  the  means  of  moral  life  to  the  wmrld. 
Men  need,  not  only  truth,  but  life  —  the  truth  and  life 
embodied.  They  need  a  leader,  some  one  to  go  before 
them  as  the  Captain  of  their  salvation,  whose  voice  they 


LOWLY  CONDITION  OF  CHRIST. 


213 


can  hear  saying,  "Follow  me.”  While,  therefore,  in 
all  other  systems,  the  character  of  the  founder  is  of 
little  importance,  it  is  vital  here.  But  no  one  can  fail 
to  see  the  infinite  difficulty  and  hazard  of  introducing 
such  an  element  as  this  into  any  system  of  imposture. 
It  opens  a  point  of  attack  against  which  no  such  system 
could  ever  rear  an  effectual  barrier. 

Condition  in  life. — Let  us,  then,  first,  as  was  pro¬ 
posed,  look  at  the  condition  in  life  *  of  the  Author  of 
Christianity,  and  at  the  suitableness  of  that  condition 
to  one  who  was  to  be  the  teacher  and  spiritual  deliverer 
of  man.  And  here  I  need  hardly  say  that  our  Saviour 
was  in  humble  circumstances,  and  was  entirely  without 
property.  This  fact  we  find  indicated  by  himself  in  the 
simplest  and  most  affecting  manner.  He  did  not  speak 
of  it  in  the  language  of  repining  and  complaint,  nor  yet 
of  stoical  indifference  and  contempt  of  wealth,  but  in 
the  language  of  kindness,  and  to  prevent  disappoint¬ 
ment  in  one  who  proposed  to  follow  him,1  without 
understanding  the  true  nature  of  his  kingdom.  He 
had  become  celebrated,  both  as  having  the  power  to 
work  miracles  and  as  a  great  teacher.  Multitudes  fol¬ 
lowed  him ;  and  a  certain  man,  no  doubt  with  some 
hope  of  worldly  gain,  said  unto  him,  "  Lord,  I  will  follow 
thee  whithersoever  thou  goest.  And  Jesus  said  unto 
him,  Foxes  have  holes,  and  birds  of  the  air  have  nests  ; 
but  the  Son  of  man  hath  not  where  to  lay  his  head.” 
The  beasts  of  the  field  and  the  fowls  of  heaven  had 
places  of  rest  and  shelter ;  but  the  greatest  benefactor 
of  men,  when  he  came  to  dwell  among  them,  had  noth¬ 
ing  that  he  could  call  his  own.  He  had  no  legal  title 
to  any  thing,  no  control  over  any  thing  which  men  call 

*  The  argument  from  this  topic  is  so  similar  to  what  is  said  respecting  it  by  the 
author  of  the  “  Philosophy  of  the  Plan  of  Salvation.”  that  I  think  it  proper  to  say. 
that  it  was  copied  almost  literally  from  an  unpublished  discourse,  delivered  before 
the  publication  of  that  work. 

O 


* 


214  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

property.  And  not  only  was  he  poor  after  he  com¬ 
menced  his  ministry,  hut  from  his  early  days.  His 
parents  had  no  such  wealth  and  consideration  as  would 
procure  them  a  place  in  an  inn  in  Bethlehem  when  there 
was  a  crowd,  and  accordingly  he  was  cradled  in  a 
manger.  He  was  early  driven  into  a  strange  country  ; 
and  when  he  returned,  his  parents,  through  fear,  turned 
aside  and  dwelt  in  a  place  where  there  was  neither 
wealth  nor  refinement,  and  which  had  connected  with 
it  no  elevating  associations.  He  was  called  a  Nazarene 
by  way  of  reproach,  and  it  was  asked,  ”  Can  any  good 
thing  come  out  of  Nazareth?”  So  poor  were  Joseph 
and  Mary,  that  they  do  not  seem  to  have  been  able  to 
give  their  children  any  particular  advantages  of  educa¬ 
tion  ;  for  it  is  said  that,  when  Christ  taught,  the  Jews 
marveled,  saying,  "How  knoweth  this  man  letters, 
having  never  learned  ?  ”  He  chose  for  his  companions 
poor  and  unlettered  men ;  and  as  he  went  from  place 
to  place,  he  was  supported  —  shall  I  say  by  charity? 
Yes  ;  but  there  are  two  kinds  of  charity.  He  was  not 
supported  by  that  kind  of  charity  which  is  drawn  forth 
in  view  of  distress,  and  accompanied  with  pity ;  but, 
wherever  he  went,  there  were  those  who  received  him 
in  the  spirit  of  his  mission,  to  whom  his  words  were 
gracious  words,  and  who  esteemed  it  an  honor  and  a 
privilege  to  minister  to  him  of  their  substance.  Sup¬ 
port  flowing  from  such  a  source,  which  was  but  a  simple 
reflection  of  the  spirit  which  he  himself  manifested,  he 
ivas  willing  to  receive,  and  did  receive,  and  never  seems 
to  have  had  any  other. 

Fitness  of —  to  exclude  wrong  motives.  —  Such  was 
the  condition  in  life  of  the  Author  of  Christianity,  and 
it  was  fit  and  important  that  it  should  be  so  ;  first,  to 
show  that  his  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world,  and 
«o  prevent  any  from  attaching  themselves  to  it  from 
worldly  motives.  There  is  a  kingdom  of  matter,  gov- 


21  o 


fitness  of  Christ's  condition. 

emed  by  gravitation  and  the  laws  of  affinity ;  there  is 
a  kingdom  of  sense  and  of  sensitive  good,  governed  by 
desire  and  by  fear ;  and  there  is  a  moral  and  spiritual 
kingdom.  In  this  kingdom  the  government  is  by 
rational  motives,  by  a  perception  of  right  and  of  wrong, 
and  by  moral  love.  The  motives  by  which  a  man  is 
led  to  become  a  subject  of  this  kingdom  can  have  noth¬ 
ing  to  do  with  any  thing  material.  The  moment  any 
consideration  of  wealth  or  of  power  comes  in,  to  induce 
any  one  to  enter  into  its  visible  inclosure,  its  very 
nature  becomes  changed.  It  was  of  infinite  importance 
that  this  point  should  be  guarded ;  and  in  no  way  could 
this  have  been  done  so  effectually  as  by  the  humble 
condition,  the  entire  separation,  on  the  part  of  the 
Author  of  Christianity,  from  all  connection  with  wealth 
or  with  power.  Perhaps  such  a  separation  was  even 
required  by  consistency,  in  one  who  said  that  his  king¬ 
dom  was  not  of  this  world. 

For  personal  dignity. —  Secondly,  such  a  condition 
was  necessary  to  the  personal  dignity  of  Christ  as  the 
head  of  a  spiritual  kingdom ,  and  to  the  highest  evidence 
of  the  reality  of  such  a  kingdom.  If  Christ  was  what 
he  claimed  to  be,  he  could  not  receive  title-deeds  from 
men.  He  came  out  from  God  on  a  great  mission,  as 
the  embassador  of  an  infinite  and  an  eternal  kingdom ; 
and  it  would  not  only  have  interfered  with  that  mission 
in  its  spirit,  but  would  have  debased  and  degraded  it 
beyond  expression,  if  he  had  shown  any  regard  for 
wealth,  or  had  had  any  thing  to  do  with  the  petty  strifes 
of  men  for  temporary  power.  Moreover,  it  could  not 
otherwise  have  appeared  that  his  true  kingdom  could 
stand  by  itself,  and  that  it  needed  none  of  those  attrac¬ 
tions  and  supports  at  which  alone  men  are  accustomed 
to  look.  If  Christ  had  possessed  either  wealth  or 
power,  I  should  feel  that  I  was  conducting  this  argu¬ 
ment  at  an  immense  disadvantage. 


216 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


To  give  wealth  and  power  their  place.  — Thirdly,  such 
a  condition  was  necessary,  not  only  that  he  might  show 
his  own  estimate  of  wealth  and  power,  but  that  he 
might  lead  his  followers  to  a  right  view,  and  a  right 
spirit,  concerning  them,  and  concerning  the  distinctions 
which  they  bring.  They  are  external  to  the  spirit. 
They  have  nothing  to  do  with  that  stato  of  it  in  which 
character  consists,  and  on  which  its  true  dignity  and 
happiness  must  depend.  Christ  came  to  prepare  men 
for  a  kingdom  where  neither  property  nor  wealth  exists 
as  an  clement  of  enjoyment,  but  where  all  things  will 
be  as  the  air  and  the  sunlight ;  and  where,  if  intellectual 
and  moral  beings  differ,  it  will  be  only  as  one  star  differs 
from  another  star  in  glory.  It  is  impossible,  therefore, 
that  any  one  who  truly  sympathizes  with  the  spirit  of 
Christ  should  have  that  selfish  and  idolatrous  attachment 
to  them  which  has  been  the  cause  of  so  much  disorder 
and  unhappiness  among  men. 

To  show  the  dignity  of  man.  — And,  once  more  :  this 
condition  of  Christ  was  requisite  to  show  the  true  worth 
and  dignity  of  man  as  man.  In  a  world  where  respect 
for  man  as  an  immortal  being,  in  the  image  of  God,  had 
so  far  given  place  to  respect  for  wealth  and  rank,  it  was 
of  the  first  importance  that  a  spiritual  teacher  should 
himself  stand  in  the  simple  grandeur  of  a  true  and 
perfect  manhood.  By  doing  this,  Christ  furnished  to 
the  poor  in  all  ages,  many  of  whom  were  to  be  his 
disciples,  a  model,  and  a  ground  of  sell-respect ;  and  he 
made  it  impossible  that  there  should  not  be,  wherever 
the  spirit  of  his  religion  prevails,  a  true  respect  for 
every  human  being.  With  that  estimate  of  man,  or,  if 
you  please,  of  men,  which  ministers  to  the  pride  of 
talent,  or  of  wealth,  or  of  power,  he  had  no  sympathy. 
He  looked  at  man  as  a  spirit,  at  all  men  as  standing 
upon  the  same  level  of  immortality ;  and  his  teachings, 
his  labors,  and  his  sufferings,  were  equally  for  all. 


CLAIMS  OF  CHRIST. 


217 


Who  can  see  the  humble  walks  of  life  thus  trodden, 
and  not  feel  that  the  race  is  one  brotherhood,  and  not 
be  ready  to  give  the  hand  of  fellowship,  of  sympathy, 
and  of  aid,  to  every  one  whom  Christ  thus  represented, 
and  for  whom  he  thus  cared  ? 

Strange,  then,  and  offensive  as  it  was  at  the  first,  as 
it  always  has  been  to  many,  it  must  yet  be  admitted 
that,  if  Christ  was  to  be  a  spiritual  deliverer,  to  eradi¬ 
cate  pride  and  selfishness,  and  to  unite  all  men  in  one 
brotherhood,  it  was  essential  that  he  should  appear  in 
the  very  circumstances  and  condition  of  life  in  which 
he  did  appear. 

Claims  of  Christ.  — We  next  inquire  what  were  the 
claims  of  this  man,  —  so  humble  in  his  condition ;  so 
lowly ;  so  destitute  of  learning,  of  wealth,  of  influen¬ 
tial  friends ;  whose  public  ministry  but  little  exceeded 
three  years,  and  was  terminated  by  crucifixion.  In 
general,  he  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God, 
and  the  Saviour  of  men.  As  I  wish  to  avoid  here  all 
disputed  points,  I  shall  not  move  the  great  question 
whether  he  claimed  to  be  a  truly  divine  person,  or  to 
be  "  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world,”  in  the  sense  of  making  an  atonement,  but  shall 
observe,  — 

1 .  That  he  claimed  to  be  a  perfect  teacher ; 

2.  To  set  a  perfect  example;  to  be  the  model  man 
of  the  race ; 

3.  To  be  a  perfectly  sinless  being ; 

4.  That  all  men  should  love  and  obey  him ; 

5.  To  work  miracles  as  no  other  man  ever  did ; 

6.  That  in  him  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament 
were  fulfilled ; 

7 .  That  he  would  himself  rise  from  the  dead  ; 

8.  To  be  the  final  judge  of  the  world. 

Such  were  his  claims  —  claims  till  then  unprece- 


218 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


dented,  unheard  of,  undreamed  of,  by  the  wildest  and 
most  extravagant  imagination. 


Character  of  Christ .  — Let  us  next  see,  so  far  as  we 
have  the  means  of  determining,  how  he  sustained  these 
claims.  In  doing  this,  we  shall,  of  necessity,  as  was 
proposed,  consider  his  character. 

Nothing  local  or  temporary .  — And  here,  before  say¬ 
ing  any  thing  under  the  particular  heads  specified,  I 
shall  enrich  this  lecture  with  three  general  remarks  from 


one  whose  eloquent  voice  will  long  echo  in  the  public 
halls  of  this  city.  "We  are  immediately  struck,”  says 
Dr.  Channing,  in  his  Dudleian  lecture,  "with  this  pecu¬ 
liarity  in  the  Author  of  Christianity,  —  that  whilst  all 
other  men  are  formed  in  a  measure  by  the  spirit  of  the 
age,  we  can  discover  in  Jesus  no  impression  of  the 
period  in  which  he  lived.  We  know,  with  considerable 
accuracy,  the  state  of  society,  the  modes  of  thinking, 
the  hopes  and  expectations  of  the  country  in  which 
Jesus  was  born  and  grew  up ;  and  he  is  as  free  from 
them  as  if  he  had  lived  in  another  world,  or  with  every 
sense  shut  on  the  objects  around  him.  His  character 
has  in  it  nothing  local  or  temporary.  It  can  be  explained 
by  nothing  around  him.  His  history  shows  him  to  us  a 
solitary  being,  living  for  purposes  which  none  but  him¬ 
self  comprehended,  and  enjoying  not  so  much  as  the 
sympathy  of  a  single  mind.  His  apostles,  his  chosen 
companions,  brought  to  him  the  spirit  of  the  age;  and 
nothing  shows  its  strength  more  strikingly  than  the 
slowness  with  which  it  yielded,  in  these  honest  men, 
to  the  instructions  of  Jesus.” 

Vastness  of  views.  — Again  :  "  One  striking  peculiar¬ 
ity  in  Jesus  is  the  extent  and  vastness  of  his  views. 
Whilst  all  around  him  looked  for  a  Messiah  to  liberate 
God’s  ancient  people, — whilst,  to  every  other  Jew, 
Judea  was  the  exclusive  object  of  pride  and  hope, — 


CHRIST  AS  A  TEACHER, 


219 


Jesus  came,  declaring  himself  to  be  the  deliverer  and 
light  of  the  world ;  and  in  his  whole  teaching  and  liie 
you  see  a  consciousness,  which  never  forsakes  him,  of 
a  relation  to  the  whole  human  race.  This  idea  of  bless¬ 
ing  mankind,  of  spreading  a  universal  religion,  was  the 
most  magnificent  which  had  ever  entered  man’s  mind . 
All  previous  religions  had  been  given  to  particular 
nations.  No  conqueror,  legislator,  philosopher,  in  the 
extravagance  of  ambition,  had  ever  dreamed  of  subject¬ 
ing  all  nations  to  a  common  faith.” 

Confidence. — -Once  more:  he  says,  "I  can  not  but 
add  another  striking  circumstance  in  Jesus  ;  and  that  is, 
the  calm  confidence  with  which  he  always  looked  for¬ 
ward  to  the  accomplishment  of  his  design.  He  fully 
knew  the  strength  of  the  passions  and  powers  which 
were  arrayed  against  him,  and  was  perfectly  aware  that 
his  life  was  to  be  shortened  by  violence  ;  yet  not  a  word 
escapes  him  implying  a  doubt  of  the  ultimate  triumphs 
of  his  religion.  *  *  *  This  entire  and  patient  relin¬ 
quishment  of  immediate  success,  this  ever-present  per¬ 
suasion  that  he  was  to  perish  before  his  religion  would 
advance,  and  this  calm,  unshaken  anticipation  of  distant 
and  unbounded  triumphs,  are  remarkable  traits,  throwing 
a  tender  and  solemn  grandeur  over  our  Lord,  and  wholly 
inexplicable  by  human  principles,  or  by  the  circum¬ 
stances  in  which  he  was  placed  !  ” 

Christ  a  perfect  teacher .  —  The  matter  of  his  teaching . 
—  I  now  proceed  to  observe,  1.  That,  under  that  gen¬ 
eral  claim  to  which  these  remarks  apply,  Christ  claimed 
to  be  a  perfect  teacher  —  to  be  not  only  a  light,  but  the 
light  of  the  world.  And  who  can  point  out  any  defect 
in  his  teaching,  either  in  respect  to  matter  or  to  manner? 
As  a  teacher  of  religion,  he  set  before  us,  in  the  matter 
of  his  teaching,  the  paternal  and  the  holy  character  of 
God,  and  taught  us  to  love  him,  and  to  worship  him  in 


220 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


spirit  and  in  truth.  It  is  evidently  impossible  that  we 
should  have  a  higher  conception  of  God  in  any  of  his 
attributes,  or  of  his  worship,  than  he  communicated. 
Ai  the  same  character,  he  taught  us  the  great  doctrines 
of  a  perfect  human  accountability,  of  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  of  the 
final  reward  of  the  righteous  and  punishment  of  the 
wicked.  As  a  teacher  of  morality,  he  introduced  a 
system,  the  great  characteristics  of  which  are,  (1.)  That 
it  establishes  a  perfect  standard.  (2.)  That  it  takes 
cognizance  of  the  heart.  (3.)  That  it  forbids  all  the 
malevolent  and  dissocial  passions.  (4.)  That  it  for¬ 
bids  all  merely  selfish  passions,  as  vanity  and  pride. 
(5.)  That  it  forbids  all  impure  passions.  (6.)  That 
it  includes  all  its  positive  duties  under  the  two  great 
requisitions  of  love  to  God  and  love  to  man,  which  all 
moralists  now  agree  is  the  sum  of  human  duty.  If  we 
look  at  man  as  a  practical  being,  what  point  is  there  on 
which  Christ  did  not  shed  light  enough  to  lead  him,  if 
he  will  but  follow  his  instructions,  to  his  true  happi¬ 
ness,  whether  in  this  world  or  the  world  to  come? 

The  manner. — Nor  was  the  manner  of  his  teaching 
less  extraordinary.  He  taught  them  as  one  having 
authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes,  or  as  the  philosophers 
who  ran  into  subtile  distinctions,  and  deduced  every 
thing  from  the  nature  of  things.  In  opposition  to  all 
the  learning,  and  authority,  and  prejudices  of  his  age 
and  nation,  he  simply  said,  "Verily  I  say  unto  you.” 
He  spoke  with  the  calmness,  and  dignity,  and  decision, 
of  one  who  bore  credentials  that  challenged  entire  def- 
erence.  But,  if  his  manner  was  authoritative,  it  was 
also  gentle  and  condescending ;  if  it  was  dignified,  it 
was  also  kind ;  if  it  was  calm,  it  was  also  earnest. 
While  his  instructions  were  the  most  elevated  that  were 
ever  uttered,  they  were  uttered  with  such  plainness, 
were  so  clothed  in  parables,  and  illustrated  by  common 


THE  MODEL  MAN. 


221 


objects,  that  they  were  also  the  most  intelligible. 
Nothing  can  exceed,  nothing  ever  equaled,  in  depth 
and  weight,  some  of  his  discourses  and  parables ;  and 
yet  they  are  simple  and  beautiful,  "are  adapted  to 
the  habits  of  thinking  of  the  poor,  are  opened  and 
expanded  to  their  capacities,  separated  from  points  of 
difficulty  and  abstraction,  and  presented  only  in  the 
aspect  which  regarded  their  duty  and  hopes.”  *  The 
most  exalted  intellect  can  not  exhaust  his  instructions, 
and  yet  they  are  adapted  to  the  feeblest.  "  Never  man 
spake  like  this  man.”  No  teacher  ever  so  combined 
authority  and  condescension,  dignity  and  gentleness, 
zeal  and  discretion,  sublimity  and  plainness,  weight  of 
matter  and  a  facility  of  comprehension  by  all. 

Christ  a  perfect  example  and  model.  —  2.  But  if  the 
claim  to  be  a  perfect  teacher  was  so  high,  far  higher 
was  that  to  set  a  perfect  example,  and  to  stand  before 
the  world  as  the  model  man. 

The  need  of  this.  — In  every  practical  science,  a  per¬ 
fect  system  of  instruction  must  include  both  precept 
and  example.  If  God  was  to  institute  a  perfect  system 
for  the  instruction  and  elevation  of  man,  both  as  a  spec¬ 
ulative  and  a  practical  being,  it  was  necessary  that  he 
should  not  only  give  him  perfect  precepts,  but  that  he 
should  cause  a  perfect  example  to  be  set  before  him. 
The  constitution  of  man  requires  this.  He  is,  and 
must  be,  more  affected  by  example  than  by  precept. 
Even  in  the  exact  sciences,  when  a  rule  is  given,  though 
it  really  covers  every  possible  case,  it  is  yet  necessary 
to  give  examples  to  show  practically  its  application. 
Much  more  must  this  be  needed  in  the  ever-varying 
adjustments  of  moral  relations.  A  great  example  will 
speak,  though  silently,  yet  powerfully,  to  the  sympa¬ 
thetic  feelings,  and  will  aid  the  imagination  in  giving 
direction  and  definiteness  to  its  ideas  of  perfection. 

*  Wilson. 


f 


222 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY, 


Its  adaptation  to  man .  — And  here  we  find  one  great 
adaptation  of  the  Christian  system  to  the  moral  con¬ 
dition  and  wants  of  man,  which  is  not  even  attempted 
in  any  other.  It  is  one  on  which  I  did  not  dwell  when 
on  the  subject  of  adaptations,  because  I  intended  to 
speak  of  it  here.  The  Author  of  Christianity,  in  claim¬ 
ing  to  give  such  an  example,  at  least  showed  his  knowl¬ 
edge  of  what  a  perfect  system  required ;  and  if  he  has 
done  it,  he  has  not  only  done  what  unassisted  man  could 
not  do,  but  what  I  am  inclined  to  think  he  could  not 
even  conceive  of.  It  was  not  in  the  power  of  man  to 
form  a  conception  of  the  character  of  Christ  before 
he  appeared.  It  is  one  thing  to  recognize  a  perfect 
character  as  such,  when  it  is  presented,  and  quite 
another  so  to  combine  the  qualities  as  to  form  such  a 
character,  and  to  manifest  it  in  action.  It  is  at  this 
point  that  we  find  all  the  difference  between  the  com¬ 
mon  power  of  judging  of  the  productions  of  genius  in 
the  fine  arts,  and  of  producing  models  of  excellence 
in  those  arts  ;  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that,  as  a 
work  of  art,  a  product  of  genius,  simply,  the  exhibition 
in  life  of  a  perfect  model  of  human  nature  would  be 
the  highest  conceivable  attainment.  That  man  has 
genius  who  can  embody  the  perfection  of  material 
forms  in  his  imagination,  and  cause  those  forms  to  live 
before  us  in  the  marble,  on  the  canvas,  or  on  the 
printed  page ;  and  he  has  higher  genius  still  who  can 
arrange  the  elements  of  character  into  new  yet  natural 
combinations,  and  cause  his  personages,  as  organized 
and  consistent  wholes,  to  speak  and  act  before  us.  In 
all  these  cases,  when  Michael  Angelo  produces  a  statue, 
or  Allston  a  painting,  or  Milton  a  landscape,  or  Shak- 
speare  a  character,  we  can  judge  of  it,  though  we  could 
not  have  made  that  combination.  It  is,  indeed,  the 
great  prerogative  of  genius  to  produce  thoughts,  and 
forms,  and  characters,  and  I  will  add  here  actions ,  of 


GENIUS  AND  ACTION, 


223 


which  other  men  recognize  the  excellence,  but  which 
they  could  not  have  produced.  Yes,  I  add  actions  ;  for 
if  the  conception  and  delineation  of  an  original  course 
of  action  require  genius,  it  must  be  equally  required, 
and  in  combination,  too,  with  high  practical  qualities,  to 
realize  that  same  conception  in  the  bolder  relief  of 
actual  life.  The  power  to  act  thus  does  not  always, 
perhaps  not  generally,  involve  the  power  of  delineation, 
but  it  does  involve  the  very  highest  form  of  genius,  and 
something  more  ;  and  it  is  only  because  there  is  genius, 
that  expresses  itself  in  great  action,  that  that  of  delin¬ 
eation  has  either  dignity  or  worth. 

Its  difficulty.  —  Now,  as  the  highest  effort  of  genius 
in  statuary  would  be  to  produce  a  perfect  human  form, 
one  of  which  it  might  be  said  that,  though  no  form  in 
nature  ever  equaled  it,  yet  that  every  form  was  perfect 
in  proportion  as  it  approximated  toward  it,  so  it  would 
be  the  highest  conceivable  effort  of  genius,  involving 
its  most  complex  elements,  to  present,  as  an  organized 
and  consistent  whole,  and  to  cause  to  speak  and  act 
before  us  in  all  the  diversified  relations  of  life,  a  perfect 
human  being,  —  one  of  whom  it  might  be  said  that, 
though  no  other  ever  manifested  the  same  excellence, 
yet  that  all  others  were  excellent  in  proportion  as  they 
approximated  toward  him.  Philosopher,  man  of  genius 
and  of  taste,  here  is  a  task  for  you.  We  challenge  you 
to  it.  Would  you,  could  you,  not  merely  describe  in 
general  terms,  but  present  in  detail,  the  words  and 
actions  even  of  a  consistent  and  perfect  piety?  No. 
You  would  not,  and  you  could  not.  Attempts  had 
often  been  made  to  portray  a  model  character,  but  it 
does  not  appear  that  it  was  within  the  power  of  human 
genius ;  and  when  the  majestic,  the  simple,  the  beauti¬ 
ful,  the  perfect  character  of  Christ  appeared,  it  was 
seen  how  poor  those  attempts  had  been.  Certainly, 
applying  the  most  philosophical  tests,  if  the  evangelists 


224 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


did  invent  this  character,  they  manifested  higher  genius 
than  any  other  men  that  ever  lived.  But  if  the  bare 
representation  of  such  a  character  would  be  so  difficult, 
who  could  have  thought  of  really  being  such  a  person, 
of  expressing  it  in  life  and  action? 

Of ph ilosojph ico l  interest.  — Now,  the  question  wheth¬ 
er  the  true  model  of  humanity  has  been  really  thus 
presented,  is  one,  to  my  mind,  not  only  of  religious, 
but  of  the  deepest  philosophical  interest.  If  mankind 
are  ever  to  advance  intelligently  in  excellence,  they 
must  have  the  true  model  before  them.  There  can  be 
no  true  progress,  either  of  individuals  or  of  society, 
without  this.  The  greatest  amount  of  human  activity, 
hitherto,  has  had  no  tendency  to  advance  the  cause  of 
humanity,  and  it  never  can  have  till  men  adopt  a  right 
model,  and  seek  to  conform  themselves  to  that.  To 
conform  ourselves  to  such  a  model  we  do  aspire  in  our 
better  moments.  Is  there  one  here  who  has  not  felt 
the  stirrings  within  him  of  something  that  would  lead 
him  to  take  hold  on  this  ?  Wherever  there  is  any  thing 
truly  elevated  in  human  nature,  it  is  this  that  it  seeks 
for ;  it  is  this  that,  in  its  blindness  and  moral  ruin,  it 
still  gropes  after ;  it  is  this  respecting  which  many, 
very  many,  when  they  have  beheld  the  character  of 
Christ,  have  exclaimed,  with  a  deeper  joy  than  that  of 
the  philosopher,  "  Eureka,  Eureka  !  ”  —  I  have  found 
it,  I  have  found  it ! 

Part  of  the  system. — Yes,  we  do  claim  that  this 
model  was  presented,  as  a  part  of  the  system  of  Chris¬ 
tianity,  in  the  character  of  Christ ;  this  deep  want  of 
human  nature  we  say  that  he  has  supplied.  The  more 
we  look  at  the  character  of  Christ,  the  more  we  shall 
be  satisfied  that  there  is  there  presented  what  we  seek 
—  the  more  ready  shall  we  be  to  exclaim,  "Who  is  this 
that  cometh  up  .  .  .  traveling  in  the  greatness  of  his 
strength?”  It  is  obviously  not  every  part  of  his  life 


PIETY  OF  CHRIST. 


that  was  intended  to  be  an  example  to  man,  but  only 
that  in  which  he  stood  in  the  relations  common  to  men, 
in  which  he  moved  and  walked  as  one  of  them.  And 
he  did  move  and  mingle  freely  with  men  of  all  classes 
and  of  all  conditions.  He  was  placed  not  only  in  such 
a  condition  in  life,  but  in  so  many  situations  —  he  came 
into  collision  with  human  passion  and  interest  in  so 
many  ways  —  as  most  fully  to  test  his  character,  and 
make  him  an  example  to  all.  At  this  example  we  will 
briefly  look. 

His  piety.  —  I  observe,  then,  first,  that  his  piety  was 
most  exemplary.*'  On  all  occasions  he  acknowledged 
God,  and  always  did  those  things  that  pleased  him. 
He  conformed  to  the  ceremonial  law.  He  expounded 
the  Scriptures,  and  honored  them  as  the  word  of  God. 
He  attended  public  worship  on  the  Sabbath.  There  are 
indications  that  lie  was  in  constant  habits  of  devotion, 
and  on  all  solemn  occasions  he  prayed.  "  It  is  recorded 
of  him  on  no  less  than  six  occasions,  that  he  gave 
thanks  to  God  on  partaking  and  distributing  food.’' 
When  he  was  baptized,  he  prayed.  Before  he  chose 
his  twelve  disciples,  he  went  out  into  a  mountain  to 
pray.  When  he  had  wrought  a  great  number  of  cures 
publicly  for  the  first  time,  he  ”  rose  up  a  great  while 
before  it  was  day,  and  went  into  a  desert  place,  and 
prayed.”  When  many  came  together  to  hear  him,  and 
to  be  cured  of  their  infirmities,  he  retired  into  desert 
places,  and  prayed.  When  he  had  fed  five  thousand 
with  five  loaves  and  two  fishes,  he  dismissed  the  multi¬ 
tudes,  and  went  up  into  a  mountain  apart,  to  pray.  On 
one  occasion,  he  continued  all  night  in  prayer.  He 
prayed  for  Peter.  He  prayed,  if  it  may  be  called 
prayer,  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus.  He  prayed  at  the 
close  of  the  institution  of  the  Lord’s  supper.  He 

*  On  this  whole  subject,  see  Archbishop  Newcome’s  “  Observations  on  oul 

Lord.” 


t 


226 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


prayed  in  his  agony.  He  prayed  on  the  cross.  He 
taught  his  disciples  to  pray,  and  gave  them  that  form 
of  which  Paley  says  that,  "For  a  succession  of  solemn 
thoughts,  for  fixing  the  attention  upon  a  few  great 
points,  for  suitableness  to  every  condition,  for  suffi¬ 
ciency,  for  conciseness  without  obscurity,  for  the  weight 
and  real  importance  of  its  petitions,  it  is  without  a 
rival.”  In  all  things  he  had  reference  to  the  will  of 
God,  so  that  he  could  say  that  it  was  his  meat  to  do  his 
will.  The  doing  of  God’s  will  perfectly  was  evidently 
the  great  element  in  which  he  lived.  And  this  piety 
was  a  rational  piety,  without  any  tinge  of  mysticism, 
or  gloom,  or  fanaticism,  or  extravagance.  For,  — 

His  benevolence.  —  Secondly,  it  was  equaled  only 
by  his  benevolence.  Of  this  it  can  not  be  necessary 
that  I  should  adduce  particular  instances.  His  whole 
history,  in  this  respect,  is  comprised  in  five  words  — 
"lie  went  about  doing  good.”  Ail  his  acts  were  entirely 
unselfish.  He  never  refused  to  relieve  the  distress  of 
any,  but  never  used  his  miraculous  powers  for  his  own 
benefit,  or  to  gain  applause.  His  benevolence  was  uni¬ 
versal,  embracing,  in  direct  opposition  to  the  spirit  of 
his  age  and  nation,  not  only  the  Jews,  but  the  Samar¬ 
itans  and  the  Gentiles.  IPs  benevolence  rose  superior 
to  injuries.  He  neither  reviled,  nor  complained,  nor 
ceased  from  his  labors  and  sufferings  for  the  good  of 
men,  when  he  was  the  most  cruelly  treated. 

Compassion  —  combination  of  opposite  qualities.  — 
And  not  only  was  he  benevolent,  but  compassionate. 
He  had  compassion  on  the  multitude  when  they  were 
hungry  and  faint.  He  wept  over  Jerusalem.  He  was 
full  of  sympathy.  A  "hen  he  saw  Mary  weeping,  and 
the  Jewrs  also  weeping  who  came  with  her,  "Jesus 
wept.”  He  was  full  of  gentleness  and  condescension, 
taking  up  little  children  in  his  arms  and  blessing  them ; 
and  yet  he  was  fearless  and  terrible  in  his  reproofs  of 


227 


BALANCE  OF  CHRIST^  CHARACTER. 

iniquity  in  high  places.  He  "  came  eating  and  drink¬ 
ing,”  and  was  free  from  all  austerity ;  and  yet  he  was 
”  pure  in  spirit.”  He  had  great  meekness  and  lowliness, 
in  union  with  an  evident  consciousness  of  the  highest 
dignity.  He  washed  his  disciples’  feet,  at  the  same 
time  that  lie  told  them  that  he  was  their  Lord  and  Mas¬ 
ter.  He  was  not  elated  by  popularity,  nor  depressed 
when  his  followers  deserted  him.  He  had  a  zeal  which 
led  his  friends  to  say  he  was  beside  himself;  and  yet 
Bis  prudence,  as  shown  by  his  answers  to  those  who 
would  entrap  him,  was  equal  to  his  zeal.  Nor  was  his 
zeal  indiscriminate  ;  for,  while  he  insisted  on  the  silent 
worship  which  is  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  he  yet  gave 
their  proper  place  to  external  observances,  even  to  the 
tithing  of  mint,  and  he  rebuked  zeal  in  his  own  cause, 
when  it  did  not  proceed  from  a  pure  motive.  He  was 
Keenly  sensible  to  suffering,  and  yet  he  bore  it  without 
murmuring.  He  was  subject  to  his  parents  in  early 
life,  and  remembered  his  mother  on  the  cross.  There 
is  no  virtue  which  he  did  not  exemplify,  and  man  can 
be  placed  in  no  situation  in  which  his  example  will  not 
be  applicable. 

Positions  to  try  piety  and  benevolence .  —  But,  to  sum 
up  what  has  been  said  of  the  example  of  Christ,  it  has 
often  seemed  to  me  remarkable  that  he  should  have 
been  brought  into  such  positions  as  to  try,  in  the  high¬ 
est  possible  manner,  both  his  piety  and  his  benevo¬ 
lence,  and  to  lead  him  to  give  of  each  of  these  the 
highest  possible  example.  No  doubt  this  was  so  or¬ 
dered  of  God.  The  two  great  principles  of  conduct, 
which  men  need  to  have  constantly  set  before  them,  are 
love  and  submission  to  God,  and  benevolence  to  men. 
And  did  not  he  manifest  a  perfect  love  and  submission 
to  God,  who  could  say,  in  the  prospect  of  his  dreadful 
sufferings,  and  in  the  hour  of  his  agony,  "  Not  my  will, 
but  thine,  be  done  ”?  Did  not  he  love  others  as  himself, 


228 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


and  exemplify  his  own  most  difficult  precept  of  forgiv¬ 
ing  injuries,  who  prayed  for  his  murderers  on  the 
cross  ?  "  Behold  the  man  !  ” 

A  perfect  example ,  and  something  more. — And  here 
I  would  observe,  that  I  do  not  regard  the  setting  of  a 
perfect  example,  in  every  thing  that  may  strictly  be 
called  a  duty,  as  comprising  every  thing  that  should 
belong  to  a  perfect  humanity.  A  perfect  humanity 
implies  a  sensibility,  a  refinement,  a  grace,  a  beauty  of 
character,  which  can  not  be  said  to  be  required  by  duty. 
And  all  these  the  Saviour  had  in  the  highest  degree. 
There  was  no  pure  and  exquisite  emotion  of  human 
nature  to  which  he  was  not  keenly  alive ;  and  it  is  the 
union,  in  him,  of  every  thing  that  is  tender  and  gentle 
with  those  higher  and  sterner  qualities,  which  renders 
him  a  fit  example,  not  for  man  only,  but  for  woman. 
How  just  and  perfect  must  have  been  his  perception  of 
the  beauties  of  nature,  who  could  say  of  the  lilies  of 
the  field,  that  Solomon,  in  all  his  glory,  was  not  arrayed 
like  one  of  these  !  In  all  the  attitudes  in  which  Christ 
was  placed,  in  all  the  words  that  he  uttered,  there  is 
nothing  unseemly,  or  offensive  to  a  just  taste.  His 
susceptibilities  to  both  joy  and  suffering  were  intense. 
He  rejoiced  in  spirit,  and  his  joy  instantly  burst  forth 
in  devout  thanksgiving.  He  was  prone  to  compassion, 
and  repeatedly  melted  into  tears.  The  innocence  of 
children  engaged  his  affection.  His  heart  was  open  to 
impressions  of  friendship.  "  Jesus  loved  Martha,  and 
her  sister,  and  Lazarus.”  He  had  a  beloved  disciple. 
When  he  saw  an  amiable  young  man,  he  loved  him. 
He  was  grieved  at  unbelief,  and  had  a  generous  indig¬ 
nation  against  vice. 

An  example ,  and  yet  the  Messiah. — In  all  these 
respects  —  in  his  piety,  in  his  benevolence  and  other 
virtues,  in  the  refinement  and  delicacy  of  his  character 
—  he  is  a  suitable  example  for  us.  But,  as  difficult  as 


BALANCE  OF  CHARACTER. 


229 


it  must  have  been  to  present  in  action  this  combination 
of  human  excellences,  it  must  have  been  much  more  so 
to  combine  with  them  those  qualities,  and  that  deport¬ 
ment,  which  were  appropriate  to  him  as  the  Messiah 
and  Saviour  of  the  world.  Is  it  possible  that  He  who 
claimed  to  be  greater  than  Solomon,  to  command  legions 
of  angels,  to  raise  the  dead,  —  who  spoke  of  himself 
as  the  Son  of  God,  and  as  the  final  Judge  of  the  world, 
—  should  so  move,  and  speak,  and  act,  as  to  sustain  a 
character  compatible  with  these  high  pretensions,  and  yet 
have  the  condescension,  and  gentleness,  and  meekness, 
of  Christ  ?  And  yet  such  is  the  character  presented  by 
the  evangelists.  There  is  no  break,  no  incongruity. 
Like  his  own  seamless  garment,  the  character  is  one. 
He  seems  to  combine,  with  perfect  ease,  these  elements, 
apparently  so  incompatible.  This,  I  confess,  excites 
my  astonishment.  The  presentation  of  a  perfect  man¬ 
hood  in  a  lowly  station  had  been  beyond  the  power 
of  human  genius  ;  but  when  this  is  combined  with  the 
proprieties  and  requisitions  of  a  public  character,  and 
an  office  so  exalted  as  that  of  the  Messiah  and  the 
Judge  of  the  world,  then  I  have  an  intuitive  conviction 
that  I  stand  in  the  presence  of  no  human  invention ; 
then  this  character  presents  itself  to  me  with  the  gran¬ 
deur  and  wonder  that  belong  to  the  great  mountains 
and  the  starry  heavens. 

Rousseau.  —  Is  there  an  infidel  who  hears  me,  and 
who  says  that  these  impressions  are  made  on  a  mind 
predisposed  to  receive  them,  and  that  they  are  not 
those  which  would  legitimately  be  made?  —  let  him 
hear  what  one  of  his  own  prophets  has  said.  "  I  con¬ 
fess,”  says  Rousseau,*  "that  the  majesty  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  astonishes  me ;  that  the  sanctity  of  the  gospel 
speaks  to  my  heart.  View  the  books  of  the  philoso¬ 
phers, —  with  all  their  pomp,  what  a  littleness  have 

*  Emile,  as  translated  by  Newcome. 

P 


f 


230 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


they  when  compared  with  this  !  Is  it  possible  that  a 
book  at  once  so  sublime  and  simple  should  be  the  work 
of  men  ?  Is  it  possible  that  he  whose  history  it  records 
should  be  himself  a  mere  man?  Is  this  the  style  of  an 
enthusiast,  or  of  an  ambitious  sectary?  What  sweet¬ 
ness,  what  purity,  in  his  manners !  what  affecting 
grace  in  his  instructions  !  what  elevation  in  his  maxims  ! 
what  profound  wisdom  in  his  discourses  !  what  presence 
of  mind,  what  delicacy,  and  what  justness,  in  his  re- 
plies  !  what  empire  over  his  passions  !  Where  is  the 
man,  where  is  the  philosopher,  who  knows  how  to  act, 
to  suffer,  and  to  die,  without  weakness  and  without 
ostentation?*  .  .  .  Where  could  Jesus  have  taken, 
among  his  countrymen,  that  elevated  and  pure  morality 
of  which  he  alone  furnished  both  the  precept  and  the 
example  ?  The  most  lofty  wisdom  was  heard  from  the 
bosom  of  the  most  furious  fanaticism ;  and  the  sim¬ 
plicity  of  the  most  heroic  virtues  honored  the  vilest  of 
all  people.  The  death  of  Socrates,  serenely  philoso¬ 
phizing  with  his  friends,  is  the  most  gentle  that  one 
can  desire  ;  that  of  Jesus,  expiring  in  torments,  injured, 
derided,  reviled  by  a  whole  people,  is  the  most  horrible 
that  one  can  fear.  When  Socrates  takes  the  poisoned 
cup,  he  blesses  him  who  presents  it,  and  who  at  the 
same  time  weeps  ;  Jesus,  in  the  midst  of  a  horrid  pun¬ 
ishment,  prays  for  his  enraged  executioners.  Yes  ;  if 
the  life  and  death  of  Socrates  are  those  of  a  philoso¬ 
pher,  the  life  and  death  of  Jesus  Christ  are  those  of 
a  God.” 

A  perfect  example  and  sinlessness.  —  3.  According  to 
the  idea  of  many,  the  claim  to  set  a  perfect  example 
involves  the  claim  to  be  perfectly  sinless.  But,  in 
some  respects,  the  claim  to  be  sinless  involves  more 

*  Part  of  this  passage  is  here  omitted.  I  wish  to  add  the  following :  “  What 
prejudices,  what  blindness,  must  they  have,  who  dare  to  draw  a  comparison 
between  the  son  of  Sophroniscus  and  the  son  of  Mary !  What  distance  is  there 
between  the  one  and  the  other  !  ” 


SINLESSNESS  OF  CHRIST. 


231 


than  the  claim  to  exhibit  a  perfect  model  of  humanity, 
since  this  exhibition  respects  an  outward  manifestation ; 
and  who  can  say  that  it  may  not  lie  compatible  with 
some  wrong  feeling  or  affection?  And,  in  some  respects, 
again,  the  claim  to  be  a  model  man  is  more  extensive 
than  that  to  be  perfectly  sinless.  A  human  being 
might  be  sinless,  and  be  destitute  of  many  of  the  per¬ 
fections  of  the  character  of  Christ.  And  then,  again, 
these  claims  look  in  such  different  directions,  and  re¬ 
spect  such  entirely  different  objects,  that  there  is  a 
propriety  in  considering  them  apart.  The  claim  to 
present  a  perfect  manhood  has  respect  to  the  wants  of 
man ;  the  claim  to  be  sinless  has  respect  to  the  rela¬ 
tions  of  the  individual  to  Grod,  and  to  his  fitness  to  be 
a  Redeemer  from  sin.  It  must,  I  think,  be  conceded, 
that  he  who  would  deliver  others  from  the  power  of 
sin  must  himself  be  free  from  its  power  —  be  entirely 
above  and  aloof  from  it.  While,  therefore,  we  can 
conceive  of  an  exhibition  of  our  nature  that  would 
appear  to  us  faultless,  while  we  might  not  be  certain 
that  it  was  sinless,  yet  we  can  not  conceive  of  one, 
coming  as  a  redeemer  and  deliverer  from  sin,  who  had 
himself  ever  swerved  from  moral  rectitude  even  in 
thought  or  feeling.  But  since  the  great  purpose  for 
which  Christ  came  was  to  "  save  his  people  from  their 
sins,”  it  became  necessary  that  he  should  himself  be, 
and  claim  to  be,  entirely  free  from  sin. 

Christ  claimed  to  be  sinless.  —  That  Christ  made  this 
claim,  and  that  his  disciples  made  it  for  him,  there  can 
be  no  doubt.  They  made  it  impliedly,  and  they  made 
it  expressly.  Christ  said,  "  Which  of  you  convinceth  me 
of  sin  ?  ”  —  that  he  did  always  those  things  that  pleased 
the  Father — that  he  was  one  with  the  Father.  Peter 
says,  expressly,  that  he  "did  no  sin,”  that  he  was  "the 
holy  one  and  the  just ;  ”  and  Paul  says  that  he  was 
"holy,  harmless,  imdeliled,  and  separate  from  sinners.” 


232 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Bearings  of  this  claim.  — But  what  a  claim  is  this  ! 
, —  a  claim  never  made  by  any  other  human  being. 
Such  a  claim,  the  most  extraordinary,  and  the  most 
difficult  to  be  sustained,  of  any  that  was  ever  set  up, 
while  it  is  implied  in  the  idea  of  a  redeemer  from  sin, 
must  have  been  fatal  to  any  impostor.  Is  this  claim 
admitted,  or  is  it  denied?  If  it  is  admitted,  the  claims 
of  Christianity  are  admitted  with  it.  If  it  is  denied, 
the  claims  of  Christianity,  as  a  religion,  are  denied ; 
for,  as  a  mode  of  deliverance  from  sin,  and  of  salva¬ 
tion,  its  whole  value  turns  upon  this.  Men  may  have 
what  knowledge  they  please  of  external  evidences,  and 
of  mere  facts,  but  this  can  never  work  a  spiritual  ren¬ 
ovation.  They  must  come  to  Christ,  and  believe  in 
him  as  a  sinless  Redeemer,  or  there  can  no  virtue  go 
out  of  him  for  their  spiritual  healing. 

Proof.  —  The  proof  that  Christ  was  a  sinless  being 
will  be  founded,  first,  on  the  same  facts  that  prove  his 
perfect  example.  Here,  too,  we  may  properly  receive 
his  own  testimony,  since  he  could  not  have  been  de¬ 
ceived  on  this  point.  His  perfect  sinlessness  is  also  to 
be  inferred  from  the  effects  produced  by  his  life  upon 
his  disciples  ;  from  its  effects  upon  the  world  ;  and  from 
the  fact  that,  as  the  mind  of  any  individual  becomes 
more  pure  and  elevated,  he  perceives  a  greater  and 
greater  purity  and  elevation  in  the  character  of  Christ, 
so  that,  to  whatever  height  he  may  attain,  he  still 
perceives  the  majestic  form  of  the  Redeemer  moving 
before  him.  I  leave  the  point  by  remarking,  that 
if  any  wish  to  see  it  fully  illustrated,  I  would  refer 
them  to  an  excellent  essay  upon  it  by  Dr.  Ullman  in 
the  "  German  Selections,”  translated  by  Edwards  and 
Park. 

Claims  of  Christ  to  obedience. — 4.  Christ  also 
claimed  that  all  men  should  love  and  obey  him.  This 
—  the  assertion  of  a  right  to  a  paramount  and  spiritual 


MIRACLES  OF  CHRIST. 


233 


dominion,  not  over  one  race  or  one  age  only,  but  over 
all  mankind,  and  through  all  coming  ages  —  was,  as  I 
have  already  said,  entirely  peculiar.  It  must  imply  a 
claim  to  stand  in  the  relation  of  a  personal  benefactor 
to  every  one,  and  to  possess  such  a  character  as  ought 
to  call  forth  affection.  After  the  other  claims  of  Christ, 
we  need  not  be  surprised  at  this.  But  what  a  glorious 
kingdom  of  affection  and  love  does  it  open  before  us  ! 
Here  is  the  foundation  of  that  kingdom  of  love  of 
which  Napoleon  spoke  when  he  compared  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  with  his  own.  "Alexander,  Caesar,  Charle¬ 
magne,  and  myself,”  said  he,  "founded  empires;  but 
upon  what  foundations  did  we  rest  the  creations  of  our 
genius?  Upon  force.  Jesus  Christ  alone  founded  his 
empire  upon  love,  and,  at  this  hour,  millions  of  men 
would  die  for  him.  ...  I  die  before  my  time,  and 
my  body  will  be  given  back  to  the  earth  to  become  the 
food  of  worms.  Such  is  the  fate  of  him  who  has  been 
called  the  great  Napoleon.  What  an  abyss  between  my 
deep  misery  and  the  eternal  kingdom  of  Christ,  which 
is  proclaimed,  loved,  and  adored,  and  which  is  extend¬ 
ing  over  the  whole  earth  !  ” 

To  work  miracles.  —  5.  Christ  claimed  to  work  mir¬ 
acles.  I  mention  this,  not  because  he  alone  has  made 
this  claim  or  has  wrought  miracles,  but  because,  all  the 
circumstances  considered,  he  stands  entirely  by  himself 
in  this  respect.  I  have  already  spoken  of  the  character 
of  his  miracles,  as  sufficient  of  itself  to  confirm  his 
divine  mission.  They  were  none  of  them  wrought  for 
his  personal  advantage,  or  for  display,  or  capriciously, 
or  to  gratify  curiosity.  They  were  all  benevolent  and 
worthy  of  God.  He  was  peculiar,  too,  in  the  number 
of  his  miracles.  It  is  probable,  from  the  accounts 
given,  that,  on  a  single  occasion,  he  wrought  more 
miracles  than  had  been  wrought  by  all  the  prophets 
from  the  beginning.  He  was  also  peculiar  in  his  manner 


234 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


of  working  miracles.  He  performed  them  with  entire 
simplicity  and  facility,  and  generally,  so  far  as  appears, 
by  his  own  authority.  "  He  commanded  the  unclean 
spirits,  and  they  came  out.”  He  said  to  the  sea, 
"Peace,  be  still.”  When  he  raised  the  dead,  he  simply 
said,  "Young  man,  I  say  unto  thee,  Arise.”  The 
apostles  did  their  miracles  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and 
the  manner  of  the  prophets  was  entirely  different,  giv¬ 
ing  no  such  impressions  of  power  and  majesty. 

That  the  prophecies  were  fulfilled  in  him.  —  6.  Christ 
also  claimed  that  in  him  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Tes¬ 
tament  were  fulfilled.  I  mention  this  among  the  claims 
which  he  must  be  aeknowdedged  to  have  made,  but  shall 
not  dwell  upon  it  here,  because  I  intend  to  speak  of  it 
more  fully  at  another  time.  The  claim,  however,  is 
not  a  slight  one,  to  stand  as  the  subject  of  prophecy 
and  the  antitype  of  all  the  types  in  the  old  dispensation 
from  the  beginning,  —  the  claim  that  he  was  a  person 
of  such  importance  as  to  have  been  spoken  of  from  the 
first  by  holy  men,  and  to  appeal  to  the  Scriptures  as 
testifying  of  him. 

That  he  would  rise  from  the  dead.  —  7.  Christ  claimed 
that  he  would  rise  from  the  dead.  What  could  have 
induced  him  to  make  so  strange  a  claim  as  this  ?  And 
yet,  to  substantiate  this  claim,  thus  put  forth,  we  have 
an  accumulation  of  evidence  such  as  we  have  for  scarcely 
any  other  ancient  fact. 

And  he  the  Judge  of  the  world.  — -  8.  Of  the  claim  of 
Christ  to  be  the  final  Judge  of  the  world  I  shall  say 
nothing,  because,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  I  have 
no  means  of  verifying  it.  The  fact  that  he  made  this 
claim,  however,  is  all  that  is  needed  for  the  purpose  of 
my  present  argument ;  and  I  will  only  observe,  that  it 
is  not  more  extraordinary  than  his  other  claims,  and  is 
in  perfect  keeping  wfith  them.  If  we  admit  his  other 
claims,  we  shall  of  course  admit  this. 


CHRIST  NOT  DECEIVED. 


235 


Was  he  deceived ?  —  Such  were  the  condition,  the 
claims,  and  the  character,  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  now, 
is  it  possible  that  he  was  either  deceived  or  a  deceiver  ? 
Was  he  sincere  in  making  these  claims?  If  he  was, 
and  they  are  not  well  founded,  then  I  ask,  Could  a 
young  man,  poor,  unlearned,  brought  up  in  an  obscure 
village,  accustomed  to  a  humble  employment,  make 
such  claims,  and  not  be  utterly  insane  ?  Can  we  con¬ 
ceive  of  a  wilder  hallucination  ?  Is  there  one  of  all  the 
vagaries  entertained  by  the  tenants  of  our  lunatic  asy¬ 
lums  that  is  more  extravagant  than  these?  No  mere 
self-exaltation  or  enthusiasm,  nothing  short  of  insanity, 
can  account  for  such  claims.  I  mention  this  the  rather, 
because  I  remember  to  have  been  struck  by  it  in  read¬ 
ing  the  New  Testament  in  my  early  days.  When  I 
heard  this  man,  apparently  so  lowly,  saying  that  he 
was  the  light  of  the  world,  —  "If  any  man  thirst,  let 
him  come  unto  me  and  drink,”  —  that  he  was  one  with 
God,  that  all  things  were  delivered  to  him  by  his 
Father,  that  he  that  had  seen  him  had  seen  the  Father, 
that  whatsoever  the  disciples  should  ask  in  his  name 
he  would  do  it,  that  he  would  rise  from  the  dead,  and 
come  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  attended  by  myriads  of 
angels,  to  judge  the  world,  —  I  felt  that  I  had  evidence, 
either  that  those  claims  were  well  founded,  or  of  a 
hopeless  insanity.  No  wonder  those  who  did  not  be¬ 
lieve  said  of  him,  "He  hath  a  devil,  and  is  mad  :  why 
hear  ye  him?”  But  then,  as  now,  there  was  the  unan¬ 
swerable  reply,  "  These  are  not  the  words  of  him  that 
hath  a  devil.  Can  a  devil  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind?” 
When  we  look  at  his  discourses,  at  their  calmness,  at 
their  deep  insight  and  profound  wisdom  ;  when  we  see 
that  the  discoveries  of  all  ages  have  only  shed  luster 
upon  their  wisdom,  and  that  the  wisest  and  best  portion 
of  the  race  now  sit  at  his  feet  as  their  instructor ;  when 
we  see  the  more  than  propriety,  the  self-possession,  the 


236 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


dignity  of  his  deportment  under  the  most  trying  cir¬ 
cumstances, —  we  feel  that  not  a  voice  from  heaven 
could  make  it  more  certain  that  his  was  not  a  crazed, 
or  a  weak,  or  an  unbalanced  intellect.  This  fact  is 
borne  witness  to  by  the  light  of  its  own  evidence ;  it 
shines  by  its  own  brightness. 

Was  he  a  deceiver ?  —  Did  he,  then,  in  the  exercise 
of  a  sound  mind,  put  forth  those  claims  with  the  inten¬ 
tion  to  deceive  others?  This,  as  I  have  just  intimated, 
1  hold  to  have  been  impossible.  No  impostor  of  com¬ 
mon  sense  could  have  had  the  folly  to  prefer  such 
claims.  But,  if  this  consideration  is  conclusive,  how 
much  more  is  that  drawn  from  the  moral  character  of 
Christ?  Look  at  his  unaffected  and  all-pervading  piety, 
at  his  universal  and  self-sacrificing  benevolence ;  look 
at  his  purity  and  elevation  above  the  world ;  listen  to 
his  prayer  for  his  murderers  on  the  cross ;  and  say,  is 
it  possible  that  through  all  this  he  was  meditating  a 
scheme  of  deception  deeper,  more  extensive,  involving 
greater  sacrifices  and  sufferings,  and  more  ultimate 
disappointment  to  human  hope,  than  any  other?  Do 
we  not  know  that  this  was  not  so  ?  If  we  could  believe 
this,  would  not  that  faith  in  goodness,  which  is  the  vital 
element  in  the  atmosphere  of  our  moral  life,  be  de¬ 
stroyed?  And  what  would  remain  to  us  but  the  stifling, 
and  oppressive,  and  desolating  conviction,  that  there 
could  be  no  ground  of  faith  in  any  indications  of  good¬ 
ness?  We  can  not  believe  this,  we  will  not  believe  it. 
Take  away,  if  you  will,  the  vital  element  of  the  air, 
disrobe  the  sun  of  his  beams,  but  remove  not  from  me 
this  life  of  my  life ;  leave  to  me  the  full-orbed  and 
unshorn  brightness  of  the  character  of  Christ,  the  Sun 
of  righteousness. 

We  have  found  the  Messias.  — It  only  remains  that  I 
should  refer  to  what  has,  indeed,  been  implied  through¬ 
out  the  preceding  part  of  the  lecture  —  that  gathering 


THE  MESSIAS  FOUND. 


237 


about  the  person  of  Christ  of  so  many  and  such  ex¬ 
traordinary  circumstances ;  that  clustering  upon  him 
of  so  many  wonderful  and  diverse  characteristics  and 
appropriate  insignia  of  a  messenger  from  God ;  that 
accumulation  of  evidences  which  come  in,  as  it  were, 
from  the  four  winds,  and  become  as  a  crown  of  many 
stars  upon  the  head  of  the  Redeemer.  It  is  to  be 
distinctly  noticed,  in  estimating  the  evidence,  that  it  is 
not  one  only  of  the  surprising  offices  and  characteristics 
which  have  been  mentioned  that  he  sustained  so  per¬ 
fectly,  but  all  of  them.  It  is  the  same  great  Teacher 
around  whose  system  natural  religion,  and  the  old 
dispensation,  and  all  human  science,  stand  up  and  do 
obeisance,  as  did  the  sheaves  of  Joseph’s  brethren 
around  his  sheaf,  who  also  set  a  perfect  example,  and 
stands  before  us  as  the  model  man.  It  is  the  same 
person  who  "did  no  sin,”  who  wrought  miracles,  who 
fulfilled  the  prophecies,  who  rose  from  the  dead,  around 
whom  there  shines,  as  I  shall  show  hereafter,  such  an 
effulgence  of  external  evidence,  whose  life  and  death 
have  been  followed  by  such  amazing  effects.  If  we 
were  to  estimate  by  the  doctrine  of  chances  the  proba¬ 
bility  that  so  many  extraordinary  circumstances,  each 
of  which  could  be  confirmed  by  so  much  evidence, 
should  meet  upon  a  single  person,  the  fraction  express¬ 
ing  that  probability  would  be  infinitely  small.  Had 
any  one  of  these  characteristics  belonged  to  any  other 
individual,  it  would  have  placed  him  among  the  most 
distinguished  personages  of  history ;  but  when  we  see 
them  all  clustering  upon  the  lowly  Jesus,  the  Crucified 
One, 'we  must  say,  with  one  of  old,  "We  have  found 
the  Messias.” 


LECTURE  IX. 


THE  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE.  —  GENERAL  GROUNDS  ON  WHICH 
THIS  IS  TO  BE  PUT.  —  ARGUMENT  ELEVENTH  :  AUTHENTICI¬ 
TY  AND  INTEGRITY  OF  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTA¬ 
MENT. 

TThen  we  came  into  life,  we  found  Christianity  ex- 
isting.  It  was  our  business,  as  independent  thinkers, 
to  examine  it  in  its  relations  to  the  human  constitution 
and  to  human  well-being.  This  we  have  done  in  the 
preceding  lectures  ;  and  if  the  system  be  such  as  it  has 
been  represented  to  be,  then  we  may  well  feel  a  deep 
interest  in  every  thing  relating  to  its  origin  and  history 
—  in  what  have  been  called  its  external  evidences.  To 
those  evidences,  then,  we  now  turn. 

Object  of  inquiry , facts. — In  this  department  of  the 
evidences,  the  object  of  our  inquiry  is,  not  adaptations, 
or  doctrines,  or  opinions,  or  inferences,  but  simply  his¬ 
torical  facts. 

To  be  judged  of  by  their  own  evidence.  — IVas  there 
such  a  person  as  Jesus  Christ?  TTas  he  crucified?  Did 
he  rise  from  the  dead?  These  are  questions  which  we 
are  to  settle  precisely  as  we  would  settle  the  questions 
whether  there  was  such  a  man  as  Augustus  Caesar,  and 
whether  he  became  the  sole  ruler  of  the  Roman  empire. 
These  are  no  abstract  questions,  and  we  are  not  to  let 
any  of  the  uncertainty  which  must  often  belong  to  the 
discussion  of  such  questions  connect  itself  with  these. 

(238) 


HISTORICAL  EVIDENCE  ESSENTIAL. 


239 


There  is  a  science  of  evidence ;  there  are  laws  of  evi¬ 
dence  ;  and  all  we  ask  is,  that  those  laws  may  be  applied 
to  the  facts  of  Christianity  precisely  as  they  are  to  any 
other  facts.  We  insist  upon  it  that  the  evidence  ought 
to  be  judged  of  by  itself,  simply  as  evidence ;  that  no 
man  has  a  right  first  to  examine  the  facts,  and  make  up 
an  antecedent  judgment  that  they  are  improbable,  and 
then  transfer  this  feeling  of  improbability  over  to  the 
evidence.  We  hold  to  the  principle  of  Butler,  that, 
to  a  being  like  man,  objections  against  Christianity, 
as  distinguished  from  objections  against  its  evidence, 
unless,  indeed,  it  can  be  shown  to  contain  something 
either  immoral  or  absurd,  really  amount  to  nothing. 

Facte  essential.  — It  is,  indeed,  a  striking  peculiarity 
of  the  Christian  religion,  that  the  truth  of  its  doctrines, 
and  the  power  of  its  motives,  are  inseparably  connected 
with  the  reality  of  certain  facts  which  might  originally 
be  judged  of  by  the  senses,  and  which  are  now  to  be 
determined  by  the  same  historical  evidence  as  we  em¬ 
ploy  in  judging  of  any  other  facts.  As  fully  as  I  have 
entered  upon  the  internal  evidence,  as  satisfactory  as  I 
regard  the  proof  it  furnishes,  as  heartily  as  I  should 
deprecate  a  merely  historical  religion,  necessarily  desti¬ 
tute  of  any  life-giving  power,  I  would  yet  say,  distinctly, 
that  I  believe  in  no  religion  that  is  not  supported  by 
historical  proof.  Unless  J esus  Christ  lived,  and  wrought 
miracles,  and  was  crucified,  and  rose  from  the  dead, 
Christianity  is  an  imposture  —  beautiful,  indeed,  and 
utterly  unaccountable,  but  still  an  imposture. 

Christianity  peculiar  in  this. — Perhaps  it  is  not 
enough  considered  how  much  Christianity  is  contradis¬ 
tinguished,  in  this  respect,  not  only  from  other  systems 
of  religion,  but  from  all  systems  and  questions  of  phi¬ 
losophy.  Christ  said,  "  Though  ye  believe  not  me, 
believe  the  works.”  So  said  not  Mohammed.  The 
facts  on  which  his  system,  as  a  religion ,  rests,  depend 


240 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


solely  on  the  testimony  of  one  man.  So  says  not  any 
system  of  philosophy.  It  is  a  totally  different  thing 
for  the  philosopher  to  present  certain  doctrines  for  our 
reception  on  the  ground  of  his  reasoning,  and  for  the 
witness  to  testify,  "  That  which  we  have  heard,  which 
we  have  seen  with  our  eyes,  which  we  have  looked 
upon,  and  our  hands  have  handled,  —  declare  we  unto 
you.”  Christianity  is,  indeed,  a  spiritual  religion;  but 
it  is  a  spirituality  manifesting  itself  through  facts, 
clothed  in  substantial  forms.  It  says  to  the  unbeliev¬ 
ing,  "  Reach  hither  thy  finger,  and  behold  my  hands ; 
and  reach  hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my  side.” 
In  saying  this,  it  offers  itself  to  be  tried  by  a  new  test 
—  such  a  one  as  no  other  religion  can  stand.  But  the 
Christian  religion  shrinks  from  no  test.  We  wish  it  to 
be  fully  tried.  We  know  that,  like  the  pure  gold,  the 
more  it  is  tried,  the  more  clearly  it  will  be  seen  to  be 
genuine.  That  a  religion  intended  for  the  race  would 
need  the  kind  of  evidence  of  which  I  am  now  to  speak, 
is  plain ;  but  the  difficulty  is  immeasurably  increased 
when  it  is  attempted  to  sustain  an  imposture  by  evidence 
of  this  kind,  freely  thrown  open  to  all. 

Ground  of  belief  in  similar  facts. — As,  then,  our 
object  is  to  ascertain  the  reality  of  certain  alleged  facts, 
it  may  be  well  to  look  at  the  grounds  on  which  we 
believe  other  and  similar  facts.  It  has  generally  been 
said,  that  the  sole  ground  on  which  we  believe  facts 
that  we  have  not  ourselves  witnessed,  is  that  of  testi¬ 
mony.  In  some  cases  this  is  so,  but  in  many  others  I 
should  think  it  an  inadequate  account  of  the  grounds 
of  our  belief.  When  a  man  finds  an  ancient  mound  at 
the  west,  and  in  it  human  bones  and  the  implements  of 
civilization,  is  it  on  the  ground  of  testimony  that  he 
believes  that  this  continent  was  once  inhabited  by  a 
race  now  extinct?  Or,  again,  if  I  were  required  to 
prove  that  such  a  man  as  General  Washington  ever 


DIFFERENT  CLASSES  OF  FACTS. 


241 


existed,  and  performed  the  acts  generally  ascribed  to 
him,  should  I  rest  on  the  ground  of  testimony  alone? 
Perhaps  the  evidence  of  testimony  is  involved  in  the 
fact  that  his  birthday  is  celebrated ;  but  that  fact  is 
something  more  than  mere  testimony.  So,  when  I  go 
to  the  house  where  it  is  said  he  lived,  and  the  tomb 
where  it  is  said  he  is  buried,  when  I  see  the  sword  pre¬ 
sented  to  Congress  which  it  is  said  he  wore,  I  find,  in 
the  existence  of  the  house,  the  tomb,  the  sword,  an 
evidence  distinct  from  that  of  naked  testimony.  So, 
again,  when  I  look  at  the  independence  of  this  country, 
and  at  its  republican  institutions,  and  find  them  ascribed 
by  universal  testimony  to  what  Washington  did,  and 
when  I  find  existing  no  other  account  of  the  manner  in 
which  our  independence  was  achieved,  and  our  institu¬ 
tions  established,  then  I  find,  in  the  fact  of  the  inde¬ 
pendence  of  this  country  and  the  existence  of  its  free 
institutions,  an  evidence  distinct  from  that  of  mere 
testimony.  Every  lawyer  knows  the  difference  between 
naked  testimony  and  testimony  thus  corroborated  by 
circumstantial  evidence. 

Facts  differently  substantiated.  — Here,  then,  we  find 
the  ground  of  a  wide  distinction  between  the  different 
classes  of  facts  for  which  we  have  evidence.  They  may 
be  divided  into  those  which  rest  on  the  evidence  of 
testimony  alone,  and  those  which  we  receive,  not  merely 
on  the  direct  evidence  of  testimony,  but  which  produced, 
permanent  effects  in  the  world  that  are  now  manifest, 
and  which  can  be  reasonably  traced  to  no  other  causes 
than  those  assigned  by  the  testimony.  And  of  this 
latter  kind,  especially,  some  are  so  substantiated,  that 
no  miracle  could  be  more  strange,  or  more  difficult  to 
be  believed,  or  more  a  violation  of  the  uniform  course 
of  our  experience,  than  that  such  evidence  should  de¬ 
ceive  us.  The  existence  and  history  of  Washington, 
for  example,  are  so  much  involved  in  the  present  state 


242 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


of  things,  the  evidence  for  them  comes  from  so  many 
sources,  it  touches  so  many  points,  that  to  deny  them 
would  be  a  practical  absurdity.  We  should  think  it  no 
breach  of  charity  to  say  to  him  who  questioned  such 
evidence,  that  he  was  insincere. 

Those  of  Christianity  in  the  strongest  way.  —  Now, 
it  is  on  this  general  ground  that  the  evidence  for  Chris¬ 
tianity  rests ;  and  we  say  that  no  man  can  pluck  away 
the  pillars  on  which  it  rests,  without  bringing  down  the 
whole  fabric  of  historical  evidence  in  ruins  over  his  head. 
W e  say  that  this  evidence  can  not  be  invalidated  without 
introducing  universal  and  absolute  historical  skepticism. 
Christianity,  with  all  its  institutions,  exists.  Christen¬ 
dom  exists,  and  it  is  important  to  our  argument  that 
the  greatness  of  this  fact  should  not  be  overlooked.  It 
is  the  great  fact  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Here  is 
a  religion,  received  by  a  large  portion  of  the  human 
race  ;  by  that  portion,  too,  which  takes  the  lead  in  civ¬ 
ilization  and  the  arts.  It  confessedly  supplanted  other 
religions  ;  it  produced  a  revolution  in  the  opinions  and 
habits  of  men,  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
It  has  not  merely  accomplished  religious  and  moral 
revolutions,  but,  incidentally,  social  and  civil  changes,  so 
as  completely  to  transform  the  face  of  society.  It  came 
to  its  ascendency  through  great  opposition  and  persecu¬ 
tions,  such  as  no  other  religion  ever  did  or  could  with¬ 
stand  ;  and  now  it  does  not  live  by  flattering  the  natural 
passions  of  men,  or  by  letting  them  alone  and  requiring 
of  them  no  sacrifices.  It  has  not,  like  other  religions, 
depended  for  its  existence  and  power  upon  its  con¬ 
nection  with  the  state  ;  for,  though  it  has  often  been 
connected  with  the  state,  and,  in  some  particular  form, 
upheld  by  it,  yet  it  flourishes  best  when  left  to  find  its 
own  way,  and  to  control  the  hearts  of  men  by  its  own 
proper  force. 

The  religion  to  he  accounted  for . — Now,  the  existence 


TRADITIONS. 


243 


of  such  a  religion  as  this,  in  the  world,  requires  to  be 
accounted  for.  It  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  that, 
in  a  period  of  high  intellectual  cultivation,  it  should 
spring  up  and  subvert  other  religions,  without  being 
challenged  by  mankind,  and  having  its  credentials  de¬ 
manded,  and  its  history  known.  But  if  the  facts  on 
which  the  religion  was  based  were  once  known,  it  would 
seem  in  the  last  degree  improbable  that  the  knowledge 
of  them  should  perish,  and  the  religion  remain ;  or, 
what  would  be  still  more  strange,  not  only  that  all 
knowledge,  oral  or  written,  of  these  facts  should  have 
perished,  but  that  a  false  and  most  minute  account 
should  have  been  substituted  for  the  true  one,  and  re¬ 
ceived  from  the  first. 

Tradition. — Moreover,  it  is  chiefly  with  facts  that 
exert  an  important  influence  on  the  destiny  of  mankind, 
that  tradition  connects  itself ;  and  this,  in  connection 
with  institutions  which  enter  into  the  fabric  of  society, 
or  with  monuments  or  observances  handed  down  by  an 
unbroken  succession  of  persons,  who  have  felt  a  deep 
interest  in  the  facts  in  question,  can  not  fail  to  preserve 
the  great  outlines  of  events  as  long  as  such  observances 
and  monuments  remain.  If  all  written  records  wrere 
blotted  out  from  this  time,  and  yet  the  independence 
of  this  nation  were  to  be  preserved,  and  the  fourth  of 
July  were  to  continue  to  be  annually  celebrated,  who 
can  suppose  that,  in  any  length  of  years,  all  trace  of 
the  true  origin  of  the  day  should  be  lost,  and  another, 
entirely  false,  substituted  for  it?  So,  when  we  find  a 
Christian  church,  that  has  existed  as  a  separate  inde¬ 
pendent  body  from  the  origin  of  the  religion,  celebrating 
an  ordinance  once  a  week,  or  once  a  month,  or  once  in 
two  months,  in  commemoration  of  the  death  of  Christ, 
if  we  had  no  other  evidence  for  it  than  that  of  tradition, 
the  presumption  would  be  very  strong  that,  at  least, 
such  a  man  as  Christ  lived  and  died,  and  wras  supposed 


244 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


to  have  conferred  some  distinguished  benefit.  And  in 
this  case  the  evidence  is  peculiarly  strong,  because  the 
ordinance  has  been  so  frequently  repeated  and  so 
widely  extended.  No  delusion,  from  national  pride 
or  local  feeling,  can  v'  suspected,  because  we  find  the 
same  tradition,  and  the  same  ordinance,  in  the  most 
distant  and  remote  countries.  Millions  of  Christians 
now  regard  this  rite  as  the  most  sacred  one  belonging 
to  a  religion  for  which  they  are  ready  to  lay  down  their 
fives  ;  they  received  it  from  those  who  were  equally 
attached  to  it ;  and  so  it  must  have  been  up  to  the 
point  —  a  point  perfectly  well  defined  in  history  —  from 
which  the  tradition,  and  the  written  history,  and  the 
ordinance,  started  together. 

If  true ,  all  natural  and  plain.  —  The  reverse.  — 
Here,  then,  we  find  Christendom,  and  the  Christian 
church  —  a  body  of  men  as  distinctly  organized  and  as 
intimately  associated  as  those  of  any  state  —  having  its 
institutions,  its  traditions,  and  its  records,  all  perfectly 
harmonizing  with  each  other.  These  records  bear  on 
the  face  of  them  the  marks  of  veracity ;  there  is  noth¬ 
ing  known  that  is  contradictory  to  them  ;  they  contain 
a  fair  and  plausible  account  of  the  origin  of  the  church. 
Admit  the  account,  and  every  difficulty  is  removed. 
Refuse  to  admit  it,  and  you  destroy  the  very  founda¬ 
tions  of  historical  proof  in  any  fact  whatever.  So 
much,  indeed,  are  the  general  facts  of  Christianity  im¬ 
plied  in  the  present  state  of  the  world,  and  so  much 
has  it  of  that  conviction  which  springs  from  universal 
notoriety,  and  which  we  can  neither  doubt,  nor  trace 
to  any  particular  source,  that  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say, 
that  the  objections  brought  by  Archbishop  Whately 
against  the  existence  and  general  history  of  Napo¬ 
leon  Bonaparte  are  quite  as  plausible  as  any  that  can 
be  brought  against  the  existence  and  general  history 
of  Christ. 


TESTIMONY. 


245 


We  receive  other  facts .  —  And  more  especially  ought 
we  to  receive  facts  thus  substantiated,  when  we  remem¬ 
ber  how  fully  we  believe  those  which  are  established  by 
testimony  alone.  This,  as  was  said  in  a  former  lecture, 
may  be  the  ground  of  a  certainty  as  full  and  perfect  as 
any  of  which  we  can  conceive.  Can  I  doubt  that  there 
is  such  a  city  as  Rome,  or  such  a  person  as  Queen  Vic¬ 
toria?  or  that  there  has  been  such  a  personas  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  or  George  the  Fourth?  And  yet  I  know 
these  facts  solely  by  testimony.  Who  doubts,  or  can 
doubt,  that  Augustus  Caesar  was  emperor  of  Rome  ? 
Who  would  fear  to  stake  his  life  on  the  fact  that  such 
a  man  as  Alexander  the  Great  existed?  And  yet  no 
trace  of  that  fact  remains  in  the  present  organizations 
or  customs  of  society,  and  the  written  and  traditionary 
evidence  for  it  is  as  nothing  compared  with  that  of 
Christianity. 

All  testimony  does  not  deceive.  — It  is  not,  then,  true 
of  every  kind  of  testimony  that  it  sometimes  deceives 
us.  There  may  be  testimony  of  such  a  nature  as  never 
was,  and  never  can  be,  false  ;  and  it  was  a  poor  fallacy 
of  Hume  to  attempt  to  transfer  over  to  all  testimony 
that  uncertainty  which  belongs  to  it  only  in  some  cases. 
We  affirm  that  the  testimony  for  Christianity,  taken  by 
itself,  is  such  as  could  not  possibly  be  deceptive,  as 
was  never  known  to  be  so  since  the  world  began ;  and 
we  challenge  infidels  to  point  out  an  instance  of  such 
deception.  When  they  do  this,  they  may  talk  of 
the  uncertainty  of  testimony. 

JSfor  lose  weight  by  age.  — I  may  properly  refer  here, 
also,  to  another  common  fallacy  respecting  testimony, 
which  is  based  on  the  same  principle  of  transferring  to 
the  whole  what  belongs  only  to  a  part,  and  which  has 
had  some  influence.  It  is,  that  testimony  loses  its 
weight  by  age ;  that  every  century  steals  something 
from  its  probability.  As  if  testimony  that  was  once 

Q 


246 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


true,  would  not  always  be  true ;  and  the  question 
whether  it  shall  appear  more  or  less  true  to  the  minds 
of  men,  after  longer  or  shorter  periods  have  elapsed,  is 
one  that  must  be  determined  by  circumstances.  Noth¬ 
ing  can  be  more  untrue  than  the  general  assertion,  as 
made  universally ;  and,  as  applied  to  the  evidences  of 
Christianity,  I  deny  it  altogether.  Age  itself,  as  such, 
has  no  tendency  to  impair  the  force  of  testimony ;  and 
it  often  happens  that,  by  the  discovery  of  coins,  or 
ruins,  or  hieroglyphics,  or  inscriptions,  or  manuscripts, 
testimony  which  had  been  doubted  for  ages  is  fully  con¬ 
firmed.  It  is,  indeed,  a  fact,  that,  from  fuller  research, 
and  from  such  discoveries,  the  historical  testimony  for 
Christianity,  instead  of  being  diminished  within  the 
last  hundred  years,  has  been  greatly  increased  and 
strengthened. 

J¥o  facts  of  history  so  ivell  sustained.  —  But,  valid  as 
is  the  evidence  of  testimony,  we  do  not  feel  that  we 
rest  upon  that  alone,  but  that  the  facts  of  Christianity 
are  sustained  by  every  species  of  evidence  by  which  it 
is  possible  that  any  past  event  should  be  substantiated. 
The  great  facts  in  history  are  very  few  —  I  think  of 
none  —  which  are  implied  in  the  present  state  of  the 
civilized  world  as  are  those  of  the  Christian  religion. 
It  is  as  if  the  taking  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks 
were  to  be  confirmed  by  a  reference  to  its  present  state. 
Let  us  suppose,  to  illustrate  this  point  more  fully,  that 
a  book  purporting  to  be  a  history  of  the  Turks,  and 
giving  an  account  of  their  taking  the  city  of  Constan¬ 
tinople  and  making  it  their  capital,  were  put  into  the 
hands  of  a  man  who  had  never  heard  of  that  people. 
If  it  bore  upon  its  face  evidence  of  its  being  a  true 
history,  he  might  receive  it,  and  this  would  be  naked 
testimony.  But,  if  he  should  afterward  travel,  and  find 
this  same  people  making  a  city  of  that  name  their  cap¬ 
ital,  and  find  still  dwelling  among  them  the  remains  of 


AUTHENTICITY  AND  INTEGRITY. 


247 


a  subjugated  people,  and  should  find,  both  among  Turks 
and  others,  one  unvarying  tradition  of  the  same  events, 
and  should  find,  moreover,  other  and  independent  histo¬ 
ries  agreeing  in  all  respects  with  the  history  he  had  first 
seen,  and  the  original  letters  of  the  commanders  of  the 
army  in  those  days,  he  would  feel  that  all  room  for 
doubt  was  removed.  But  all  this  evidence,  and  more, 
would  he  have  who  should  have  the  Gospel  of  Matthew 
and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  put  into  his  hands,  and 
should  then  be  made  acquainted  for  the  first  time  with 
the  present  state  of  the  world,  and  with  the  other  books 
of  the  New  Testament. 

ARGUMENT  XI. 

AUTHENTICITY  AND  INTEGRITY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  SCRIPTURES. 

With  this  general  statement  of  the  nature  of  the 
evidence,  I  proceed  to  consider  more  particularly,  in 
reference  to  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  the  two 
great  questions  of  their  authenticity  and  their  credibil¬ 
ity.  The  question  of  credibility  is,  of  course,  the  great 
question;  but,  in  the  present  case,  that  of  authenticity 
is  so  intimately  connected  with  this,  that  it  can  not  be 
omitted. 

Authenticity.  — Let  us  inquire,  then,  what  evidence 
we  have  that  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  were 
written  by  the  persons  whose  names  they  bear,  and  at 
the  time  they  purport  to  have  been  written.  The  great 
storehouse  of  learning  on  this  subject  is  Gardner ;  and 
to  him  all  subsequent  writers  refer,  doing  little  more 
than  to  quote  and  abridge  him.  For  ordinary  purposes, 
however,  such  works  as  those  of  Horne  and  Paley  are 
sufficiently  full.* 

Books  and  authors.  — We  have  the  New  Testament, 
consisting  of  twenty-seven  separate  books,  written  by 
eight  different  authors.  Some  of  these  books  are  formal 

*  It  is  chiefly  ou  their  authority  that  the  quotations  on  the  subsequent  pages 
are  made. 


t 


248 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


histories  —  one  is  a  personal  narrative  —  hut  the  most 
of  them  are  letters  addressed  to  associated  bodies  of 
Christians.  That  they  were  written  by  the  persons  to 
whom  they  are  ascribed,  and  at  the  time  claimed,  we 
believe,  — 

Quoted  and  referred  to  from  the  first.  — First,  because 
they  are  quoted  and  referred  to  by  a  series  of  writers  in 
close  and  uninterrupted  succession,  from  that  time  till 
the  present. 

Peter  and  Paul.  —  1.  We  find  one  apostle  referring 
to  the  writings  of  another.  Peter  refers  to  the  writings 
of  Paul,  characterizing  them,  just  as  many  do  now,  as 
containing  some  things  hard  to  be  understood ;  but, 
what  is  remarkable,  recognizing  them  as  of  the  same 
authority  with  the  other  Scriptures.  The  force  of  this 
incidental  reference  to  the  writings  of  Paul,  by  Peter, 
is  less  felt  from  the  fact  that  both  writings  are  bound 
up  in  the  same  volume ;  but  it  is  really  as  great  as  if 
the  Epistle  of  Peter  were  now  discovered  for  the  first 
time.  The  Epistle  of  James,  as  no  student  of  it  can 
doubt,  refers  to  the  perversion,  by  some,  of  Paul’s 
doctrine  on  the  subject  of  faith  and  works,  as  contained 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  The  supplementary 
character  of  John’s  Gospel  implies  the  previous  compo¬ 
sition  and  circulation  of  some,  at  least,  of  the  other 
Gospels.  Jude  evidently  refers  to  and  quotes  the  Sec¬ 
ond  Epistle  of  Peter. 

Apostolical  Fathers.  —  2.  We  have  writings  bearing 
the  names  of  persons,  who,  because  they  were  contem¬ 
porary  with  some  of  the  apostles,  are  called  "apostol¬ 
ical  ”  fathers.  Respecting  the  genuineness  of  some  of 
these  writings,  as  those  ascribed  to  Barnabas  and  Her¬ 
nias,  there  has  been  much  controversy.  I  shall  refer 
only  to  those  universally  admitted,  and  of  which  there 
can  be  no  reasonable  doubt.  We  have  no  need  of 
inferior  kinds  of  evidence. 


CLEMENT. 


249 


Clement.  —  The  Epistle  ascribed  to  Clement  is  an 
epistle  from  "the  church  of  God  sojourning  at  Home, 
to  the  Church  of  God  sojourning  at  Corinth.”  It  does 
not  contain  his  name,  but  is  spoken  of  by  the  ancients 
as  acknowledged  by  all  to  be  his.  Irenseus  says  it  was 
written  by  Clement,  "  who  had  seen  the  blessed  apostles, 
and  conversed  with  them,  who  had  the  preaching  of  the 
apostles  still  sounding  in  his  ears,  and  their  traditions 
before  his  eyes.”  And  Dionysius,  bishop  of  Corinth, 
about  the  year  170, — that  is,  eighty  or  ninety  years 
after  the  Epistle  was  written,  —  bears  witness  that  it 
had  been  read  in  that  church  from  ancient  times.  In  it 
there  are  quotations  from,  or  evident  allusions  to,  eight 
of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament.  He  expressly 
names  only  Paul’s  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  but 
of  the  origin  of  the  passages  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
Thus,  "Especially,”  says  Clement,  "remembering  the 
words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  which  he  spoke,  teaching 
gentleness  and  long-suffering ;  for  thus  he  said  :  '  Be  ye 
merciful,  that  ye  may  obtain  mercy ;  forgive,  that  it 
maybe  forgiven  unto  you;  as  you  do,  so  shall  it  be 
done  unto  you;  as  ye  judge,  so  shall  ye  be  judged; 
as  ye  show  kindness,  so  shall  kindness  be  shown  unto 
you ;  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  with  the  same  it 
shall  be  measured  to  you.’  By  this  command,  and  by 
these  rules,  let  us  establish  ourselves,  that  we  may 
always  walk  obediently  to  his  holy  words.”  Can  any 
one  doubt  where  Clement  found  these  words,  or  the 
following  ?  "  Remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  J esus  ; 

for  he.  said,  '  Woe  to  that  man  by  whom  offenses  come  : 
it  were  better  for  him  that  a  millstone  should  be  tied 
about  his  neck,  and  that  he  should  be  drowned  in  the 
sea,  than  that  he  should  offend  one  of  these  little 
ones.’”*  That  such  passages  are  not  referred  to  the 
evangelists  byname,  —  for  all  the  apostolical  fathers 

*  Epistle  of  Clement,  in  “  Apostolical  Fathers.” 


250 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


quote  in  this  way,  —  is  so  far  from  making,  as  has  been 
objected,  against  our  argument,  that  it  is  one  of  its 
strong  confirmations.  It  is  just  thus,  and  only  thus, 
that  we  now  always  quote  and  refer  to  works  that  are 
the  most  perfectly  familiar,  both  to  ourselves  and  to  our 
readers  or  hearers.  It  implies  for  the  New  Testament 
Scriptures,  and  as  nothing  else  could,  precisely  the 
place  that  we  claim  for  them. 

As  this  Epistle  of  Clement  was  written  in  the  name 
of  the  church  at  Rome,  and  addressed  to  the  church  at 
Corinth,  it  must  be  regarded  as  expressing  the  judg¬ 
ment  of  those  churches. 

Ignatius.  — -  Ignatius,  bishop  at  Antioch,  suffered 
martyrdom  about  the  year  107.  The  authority  of  his 
name  led  to  its  use  for  several  interpolated  or  spurious 
writings.  In  the  few  short  Epistles  generally  acknowl¬ 
edged  as  genuine,  there  are  quotations  from  two  of  the 
Gospels  and  four  of  the  Epistles.  He  expressly  names 
that  to  the  Ephesians. 

Poly  carjp.  —  Poly  carp,  a  companion  of  Ignatius,  was 
a  bishop  at  Smyrna.  Irenseus,  who  in  his  youth  had 
seen  him,  says,  "  I  can  tell  the  place  in  which  the 
blessed  Poly  carp  sat  and  taught,  and  his  going  out  and 
coming  in,  and  the  manner  of  his  life,  and  the  form  of 
his  person,  and  the  discourses  he  made  to  the  people, 
and  how  he  related  his  conversation  with  John  and 
others  who  had  seen  the  Lord,  both  concerning  his 
miracles  and  his  doctrine,  as  he  had  received  them  from 
the  eye-witnesses  of  the  Word  of  life ;  all  which  Poly¬ 
carp  related  agreeably  to  the  Scriptures  ”  Of  Polycarp 
we  have  one  Epistle,  concerning  which  there  is  no 
reasonable  doubt.  In  this,  though  short,  there  are 
clear  allusions  to  fourteen  of  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament.  He  expressly  names  the  Epistle  to  the 
Pnilippians. 

Papias.  — Papias  was  a  companion  of  Polycarp.  Of 


THE  FIRST  CENTURY 


HISTORICALLY  BRIEF.  251 


his  we  have  nothing  remaining ;  but  Eusebius  quotes 
from  a  work  of  his,  in  which  he  ascribes  their  respective 
Gospels  to  Matthew  and  Mark. 

We  have  thus,  from  persons  contemporary  with 
some  of  the  apostles,  numerous  quotations  or  plain 
allusions  to  most  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament ; 
and  they  uniformly  treat  them  with  the  reverence 
belonging  to  inspired  books. 

And  here  I  will  make  a  remark  that  needs  to  be 
borne  in  mind  in  ail  our  use  of  dates,  in  speaking  of 
the  early  history  of  Christianity.  It  is,  that  the  century 
commences  with  the  birth  of  Christ,  whereas  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  religion  does  not  commence  till  thirty-three 
years  afterward, — so  that  the  end  of  the  first  century 
was  only  sixty-seven  years  from  the  first  attempt  by 
the  apostles  to  establish  the  new  religion.  And  when 
it  is  remembered  that  the  first  three  Gospels  were  pub¬ 
lished,  probably  as  soon  as  the  year  60,  or  certainly  be¬ 
fore  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  that  John  lived 
till  nearly  the  close  of  this  century,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  means  of  verifying  every  thing  were  very 
abundant. 

Justin  Martyr.  — -  Twenty-five  or  thirty  years  after 
Poly  carp  follows  Justin  Martyr,  universally  known  in 
the  ancient  church.  He  was  a  convert  from  heathen¬ 
ism  after  he  had  arrived  at  mature  age,  and  was  distin¬ 
guished  as  a  philosopher,  a  Christian,  and  a  writer.  Of 
his  writings  we  have  remaining  only  —  two  Apologies 
for  the  Christians,  one  addressed  to  the  Emperor  Titus 
Antoninus  Pius,  and  the  other  to  the  Emperor  Marcus 
Antoninus,  and  the  senate  and  people  of  Pome  ;  and  his 
Dialogue  with  Trypho  the  Jew.  We  find,  however,  in 
these,  thirty-five  plain  quotations  from  the  Gospel  of 
Matthew  alone,  and,  in  one  case,  a  considerable  paid 
of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  in  the  very  words  of 
Matthew.  He  either  quotes,  or  clearly  refers  to,  the 


252 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  nearly  all  the  Epistles,  and 
says  expressly  that  the  Revelation  was  written  by  John. 
He  calls  the  books  from  which  he  quotes,  "Memoirs 
composed  by  the  Apostles,”  "Memoirs  composed  by 
the  Apostles  and  their  Companions,”  —  which  descrip¬ 
tion,  the  latter  especially,  exactly  agrees  with  the  titles 
which  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  now 
bear.  This  manner  of  reference  "  shows  that  the  books 
were  perfectly  notorious,  and  that  there  were  no  other 
accounts  of  Christ  then  extant  so  received  and  credited 
as  to  make  it  necessary  to  distinguish  these  from  the 
rest.”  Justin  also  tells  us,  in  his  first  Apology,  that 
the  memoirs  of  the  apostles,  and  the  writings  of  the 
prophets,  were  read  and  expounded  in  the  Christian 
assemblies  for  worship,  which  shows  that  the  Gospels 
were  at  that  time  well  known  in  the  world.  To  this 
testimony  of  Justin,  who  sealed  his  belief  in  the  Chris¬ 
tian  religion  with  his  blood,  there  is  no  objection, 
except  that  he  does  not  quote  the  different  writers  by 
name  ;  but  skepticism  itself  can  not  suppose  that  books 
were  read  and  expounded  in  the  Christian  churches  so 
generally  that  he  should  mention  it  in  an  apology  to  the 
emperor,  and  yet  that  all  trace  and  record  of  those 
books  should  have  been  lost,  and  that  others  should 
have  been  fabricated,  and  substituted  in  their  place. 
We  find  in  this  author  almost  a  complete  history  of 
Christ ;  and  yet  he  mentions  only  two  circumstances 
which  are  not  contained  in  our  Gospels. 

Tatian.  —  After  Justin  Martyr  follows  Tatian,  a 
disciple  of  his.  About  the  year  170,  he  composed  a 
harmony  of  the  Gospels,  wdiich  he  called  "  Diatessaron,” 
—  that  is,  of  the  four,  —  showing  that  there  wrere  then 
four,  and  only  four,  Gospels. 

Pothinus.  — About  this  time,  the  churches  of  Yienne 
and  Lyons,  in  France,  sent  a  relation  of  the  sufferings 
of  their  martyrs  to  the  churches  of  Asia  and  Phrygia, 


IRENjEUS. 


253 


and  the  epistle  is  preserved  by  Eusebius.  Among  the 
victims  was  the  aged  bishop  of  Lyons,  Pothinus.  He 
was  ninety  years  old,  so  that  his  testimony  would  join 
on  to  that  of  the  apostles.  In  this  we  find  the  follow¬ 
ing  :  "  Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  was  spoken  by  the 

Lord,  that  whosoever  killeth  you  will  think  that  he 
doeth  God  service  ;  ”  with  similar  references  to  Luke 
and  to  the  Acts. 

IrencBus. — To  Pothinus,  as  bishop  of  Lyons,  suc¬ 
ceeded  Irenseus,  who  was,  in  his  youth,  a  disciple  of 
Polycarp.  He  wrote  many  works,  but  his  five  books 
against  heresies  are  all  that  remain.  In  these  he  has 
shown  a  full  acquaintance  with  the  Scriptures  both  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament.  Being  only  a  century 
distant  from  the  time  of  the  publication  of  the  Gospels, 
and  only  one  step  removed  from  the  apostles,  he  speaks 
of  himself  and  his  contemporaries  as  being  able  to 
reckon  up,  in  all  the  principal  churches,  the  succession 
of  bishops  from  the  first.  He  mentions  the  code  of  the 
New  Testament,  as  well  as  the  Old,  and  calls  the  one, 
as  well  as  the  other,  the  Oracles  of  God.  His  testimony 
is  full  and  explicit  to  all  the  books  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  except  the  Epistle  to  Philemon,  the  Third  of 
John,  and  the  Epistle  of  Jude.  And  here  we  find,  for 
the  first  time,  what  we  might  now  expect  to  find  —  an 
appeal  to  the  books  as  the  ground  of  the  Christian  faith. 
"We  have  not  received,”  says  Irenseus,  "the  knowledge 
of  the  way  of  our  salvation  by  any  other  than  those  by 
whom  the  gospel  has  been  brought  to  us  ;  which  gospel 
they  first  preached,  and  afterward,  by  the  will  of  God, 
committed  to  writing,  that  it  might  be  for  time  to  come 
the  foundation  and  pillar  of  our  faith.  For,  after  our 
Lord  rose  from  the  dead,  and  they  were  endued  from 
above  with  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  coming  down 
upon  them,  they  received  a  perfect  knowledge  of  all 
things.  They  then  went  forth  to  all  the  ends  of  the 


254 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY . 


earth,  declaring  to  men  the  blessing  of  heavenly  peace, 
having  all  of  them,  and  every  one  alike,  the  gospel  of 
God.  Matthew,  then,  among  the  Jews,  wrote  a  Gospel 
in  their  own  language,  while  Peter  and  Paul  were 
preaching  the  gospel  at  Rome,  and  founding  a  church 
there.  And,  after  their  exit,  Mark,  also  the  disciple 
and  interpreter  of  Peter,  delivered  to  us  in  writing  the 
things  that  had  been  preached  by  Peter  ;  and  Luke,  the 
companion  of  Paul,  put  down  in  a  book  the  gospel 
preached  by  him.  Afterward,  John,  the  disciple  of 
the  Lord,  who  also  leaned  upon  his  breast,  he  likewise 
published  a  Gospel  while  he  dwelt  at  Ephesus,  in  Asia.” 
We  could  certainly  wish  nothing  more  explicit  than 
this  ;  and  there  are  other  passages  not  less  so. 

Clement. — After  Irenseus,  we  come  to  Athenagoras, 
about  the  year  180,  and  to  Theophilus,  bishop  at  Anti¬ 
och,  and  to  Clement  of  Alexandria,  (A.  D.  150-220,) 
an  author  of  note,  who  quotes  from  almost  all  the 
writers  of  the  New  Testament  so  largely,  that  the  cita¬ 
tions  would  fill  a  considerable  volume.  He  gives  us  an 
account  of  the  order  in  which  the  Gospels  were  written, 
and  then  says  that  he  received  the  account  from  presby¬ 
ters  of  more  ancient  times. 

TertuUian.  —  About  the  same  time  with  Clement 
lived  Tertullian,  a  presbyter  of  the  church  of  Carthage, 
whose  testimony  is  very  full  and  explicit.  After  enu¬ 
merating  the  apostolical  churches  he  says,  "I  say, 
then,  that  with  them,  but  not  with  them  only,  which  are 
apostolical,  but  with  all  who  have  fellowship  with  them 
in  the  same  faith,  is  that  Gospel  of  Luke  received, 
from  its  first  publication,  which  we  so  zealously  main¬ 
tain.”  He  adds,  "The  same  authority  of  the  apostolical 
churches  will  support  the  other  Gospels  which  we  have 
from  them,  —  I  mean  John’s  and  Matthew’s,  —  although 
that  likewise  which  Mark  published  may  be  said  to  be 
Peter’s,  whose  interpreter  Mark  was.”  In  another  place, 


GENERAL  AGREEMENT. 


255 


Tertullian  says  that  the  three  other  Gospels  were  in  the 
hands  of  the  churches  from  the  beginning. 

With  Tertullian  I  close  my  citations  from  the  authors 
of  the  second  century,  of  whom  it  has  been  said  with 
truth,  so  numerous  are  their  quotations  from  the  New 
Testament,  that,  if  that  hook  had  been  lost,  it  might  he 
almost  compiled  anew  from  these  citations. 

Extent  of  assent. — And  here  we  may  remark,  with 
Paley,  "  the  wide  extent  through  which  the  reputation 
of  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  had  spread, 
and  the  perfect  consent,  on  this  point,  of  distant  and 
independent  societies.  It  is  now  only  about  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  years  since  Christ  was  crucified ;  and 
within  this  period,  to  say  nothing  of  the  apostolical 
fathers,  we  have  Justin  Martyr  of  Neapolis,  Theophilus 
at  Antioch,  Ire  incus  in  France,  Clement  in  Alexandria, 
and  Tertullian  at  Carthage,  quoting  the  same  books  of 
historical  Scriptures,  and,  I  may  say,  quoting  them 
alone.”  These  men,  too,  —  which  is  an  important  point, 
—  being  bishops  and  presbyters,  their  testimony  in¬ 
volves  that  of  large  bodies  of  men.  It  gives  us  the 
authority  of  common  consent.  And  certainly  such 
an  authority  and  assent,  extending  over  thousands  of 
miles,  could  never  have  been  gained  to  books  esteemed 
as  these  were,  except  on  the  best  grounds.  There  are 
no  other  books  of  antiquity  that  can  be  placed  at  all  in 
competition  with  them  in  this  respect. 

It  has  been  usual  to  continue  citations  down  as  far  as 
the  fourth  century  ;  but  can  this  be  necessary  ?  I  think 
not,  especially  as  they  now  multiply  upon  us  on  every 
side.  It  has  also  been  usual,  and  is,  perhaps,  more 
strictly  logical,  to  trace  the  testimony  upward;  but, 
in  the  present  state  of  this  argument,  that  can  not  be 
important. 

Peculiar  titles.  — But  I  observe,  secondly,  not  only 
were  these  writings  thus  quoted,  but,  when  they  were, 


256 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


it  was  with  peculiar  titles  and  marks  of  respect.  Thus 
Theophilus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  who  flourished  a  little 
more  than  a  century  after  the  books  were  written,  says, 
"These  things  the  Holy  Scriptures  teach  us,  and  all 
who  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  among  whom 
John  says,  '  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word.’  ”  Origen 
(A.  D.  185-254)  says,  "That  our  religion  teaches  us 
to  seek  after  wisdom,  shall  be  shown  both  out  of  the 
ancient  Jewish  Scriptures,  which  we  also  use,  and  out 
of  those  written  since  Jesus,  which  are  believed  in  the 
churches  to  be  divine.” 

Read  in  public  assemblies. — These  waitings,  more¬ 
over,  as  has  already  been  stated,  were  early  read  in  the 
public  assemblies  of  Christians.  Justin  Martyr,  who 
wrote  only  about  one  hundred  years  after  the  crucifix¬ 
ion,  giving  an  account  of  Christian  worship,  has  this 
remarkable  passage  :  "  The  memoirs  of  the  apostles,  or 
the  writings  of  the  prophets,  are  read  according  as  the 
time  allows,  and,  when  the  reader  has  ended,  the  presi¬ 
dent  makes  a  discourse.”  This  passage  is  of  great 
weight,  because  Justin  speaks  here  of  the  general  usage 
of  the  Christian  church,  and  because  he  speaks  of  it  as 
a  long-established  custom.  That  by  "  memoirs  of  the 
apostles”  he  means  our  Gospels,  is  evident,  because  he 
tells  11s,  in  another  place,  that  they  are  what  are  called 
"  Gospels,”  and  because  he  has  made  numerous  quota¬ 
tions  from  them,  and  from  no  others. 

Collected  into  a  volume.  —  At  what  time  the  books 
of  the  New  Testament  were  collected  into  a  distinct 
volume,  and  became  known  to  the  churches  in  that  col¬ 
lected  form,  is  not  certainly  known ;  but  there  is  no 
doubt  it  was  very  early,  and  that  this  volume  was  ranked 
from  the  first  with  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament. 
Polycarp  says,  "I  trust  ye  are  well  exercised  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  as  in  these  Scriptures  it  is  said,  'Be 
ye  angry  and  sin  not.’”  This  passage,  thus  quoted  by 


EVIDENCE  AS  WE  SHOULD  WISH. 


257 


Poly  carp,  shows  that  in  his  time  there  were  Christian 
writings  distinguished  as  the  "Holy  Scriptures.”  This 
is  in  perfect  accordance  with  what  we  should  expect 
after  the  recognition,  by  Peter,  of  the  writings  of  Paul 
as  a  part  of  the  Scriptures.  Justin  Martyr,  also,  in 
the  "Apology  ”  of  which  I  have  already  spoken,  (which 
was  written  about  thirty  years  after  the  Epistle  of  Poly¬ 
carp,)  says,  "  For  the  apostles,  in  the  memoirs  composed 
by  them,  which  are  called  '  Gospels,’  have  thus  deliv¬ 
ered  it,  that  Jesus  commanded  them  to  take  bread  and 
give  thanks.” 

Completion  of  the  canon. — I  speak  of  this  subject 
because  it  has  been  said  that  no  such  book  as  the  New 
Testament  existed  before  the  fourth  centurv,  and  be- 
cause  our  evidence  on  this  point  stands  just  as  we  could 
wish  —  that  is,  it  stands  just  as  we  should  suppose  it 
would  from  the  nature  of  the  case.  Here  are  twenty- 
seven  separate  pieces  written  within  the  space  of  sixty 
years.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  these  pieces 
should  be  possessed  at  once  by  all  the  churches,  or  that 
there  should  be  at  once  a  perfect  agreement  in  regard 
to  them  all.  We  should  expect  that  copies  would  be 
taken,  and  collections  made,  of  those  writings  concern¬ 
ing  which  there  was  no  question,  and  that  these  would 
be  quoted  and  incidentally  referred  to,  precisely  as  our 
books  are,  till  some  question  was  raised  about  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  another  book,  or  about  the  authority  or 
authenticity  of  any  part  of  it.  Then  we  should  expect 
to  find  the  grounds  stated  on  which  the  books  were 
received,  and  formal  catalogues  made  out  of  such  as 
were  received.  If,  then,  by  saying  that  there  was  no 
such  book  as  the  New  Testament  before  the  fourth 
century,  if  is  meant  that  the  canon,  as  it  is  called,  was 
not  formally  settled  by  a  council  till  that  time,  it  is 
true ;  but  if  it  be  meant,  as  is  insinuated,  that  the 
writings  were  then  first  published,  no  man  can  make 


258 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


such  an  assertion,  except  from  the  grossest  ignorance, 
or  as  a  willful  falsehood. 

The  truth  is,  that  we  have  in  the  tirst  century,  that 
is,  within  less  than  seventy  years  after  the  death  of 
Christ,  numerous  quotations,  and  allusions  to  our  sacred 
books,  in  which  we  have  an  incidental  and  unintentional 
testimony,  more  satisfactory  than  any  formal  testimony 
could  be ;  and,  in  these  quotations  and  allusions,  nine¬ 
teen  or  twenty  of  our  present  books  are  recognized. 
In  the  second  century,  we  find  the  testimony  more 
express  and  full,  and  the  quotations  so  numerous,  that 
a  large  part  of  the  New  Testament  might  be  collected 
from  them.  Of  this  age  there  are  thirty-six  writers 
of  whose  works  some  part  has  come  down  to  us.  In 
the  third  and  fourth  centuries,  we  have  more  than  a 
hundred  authors  whose  works  testify  to  the  authen¬ 
ticity  of  these  books.  During  these  two  centuries, 
catalogues  of  the  authentic  works  were  expressly  drawn 
up,  harmonies  were  formed,  versions  were  made  into 
many  languages,  and  the  canon  was  fully  settled. 

'Eusebius. — In  settling  the  canon,  we  find,  from 
Eusebius,  writing  about  the  year  315,  that  there  were 
seven  books  concerning  which  there  was  some  hesita¬ 
tion,  and  the  grounds  of  the  doubts  are  fully  given.* 
Eusebius  begins  his  enumeration  of  Scriptures  univer¬ 
sally  acknowledged  in  the  following  manner :  'r  In  the 
first  place  are  to  be  ranked  the  sacred  four  Gospels ; 
then  the  book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles ;  after  that 
are  to  be  reckoned  the  Epistles  of  Paul ;  in  the  next 
place,  that  called  the  First  Epistle  of  John,  and  the 
Epistle  of  Peter,  are  to  be  esteemed  authentic ;  after 
this  is  to  be  placed  the  Revelation  of  John,  about  which 
we  shall  observe  the  different  opinions  at  proper  seasons. 
Of  the  controverted,  yet  well  known,  or  approved  by 

*  He  has  preserved  a  catalogue  by  Origen,  probably  of  the  year  210,  which  is 
nubstantially  the  same  as  his  own. 


EVIDENCE  PERFECT. 


259 


the  most,  are  that  called  the  Epistle  of  James,  and  that 
of  Jude,  and  the  Second  of  Peter,  and  the  Second  and 
Third  of  John,  whether  written  by  the  evangelist  or 
by  another  of  the  same  name.”  Concerning  these  last, 
however,  all  doubt  was  gradually  removed,  so  that,  by 
the  time  of  Jerome  and  Augustine,  A.  I).  342-430, 
many  catalogues  are  given,  including  all  our  present 
books,  and  none  other. 

While,  therefore,  it  appears  that  many  of  the  writings 
of  the  New  Testament  were  collected  while  some  of  the 
apostles  were  yet  living,  or  immediately  afterward, 
and  known  under  the  name  of  the  Gospels  and  the 
Apostles  ;  while  the  references  to  this  volume,  during 
the  second  century,  are  almost  numberless ;  while  no 
doubt  ever  arose  respecting  the  mass  of  them,  —  still 
the  book  which  we  now  receive  was  not,  in  all  its  parts, 
formally  agreed  upon,  in  consequence  of  a  careful  exam¬ 
ination  of  ancient  testimony,  till  between  three  and  four 
hundred  years  after  the  birth  of  Christ.  It  will  be 
remembered,  however,  that  if  every  part  of  the  New 
Testament,  concerning  which  there  had  been  dispute, 
or  doubt,  were  blotted  out,  the  argument  for  the  truth 
of  Christianity  would  not  be  in  the  least  invalidated. 
There  is,  therefore,  direct  evidence,  as  perfect  as  the 
nature  of  the  case  admits,  that  those  writings  on  which 
we  depend  for  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion  have 
existed,  and  were  received  without  doubt  from  the 
very  first. 

Rival  parties.  —  So  full  and  unexceptionable  is  the 
testimony  thus  given  by  early  writers,  that  it  would 
seem,  in  the  absence  of  any  thing  to  contradict  it,  or 
to  throw  over  it  the  slightest  discredit,  that  further  evi¬ 
dence  could  not  be  needed.  Indeed,  if  we  were  to 
stop  here,  we  should  have  a  body  of  evidence  for  the 
authenticity  of  these  writings  such  as  can  be  adduced 
in  favor  of  no  others  of  equal  antiquity.  The  writings 


260 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


of  Cicero  are  quoted  by  Quintilian,  which  shows  that 
they  were  then  extant  and  ascribed  to  him.  But  the 
works  of  Cicero  excited  no  controversy,  they  gave  rise 
to  no  general  opposition,  they  created  no  sects ;  hence 
we  have  no  means  of  knowing  how  those  works  were 
regarded  by  enemies,  or  by  rival  parties,  appealing  to 
their  authority.  This,  when  it  can  be  obtained,  is  the 
very  highest  kind  of  evidence,  and,  in  respect  to  the 
Christian  Scriptures,  it  is  most  full  and  satisfactory. 
The  heretical  writers  do,  indeed,  sometimes  deny  that 
the  apostle  or  writer  is  an  infallible  authority  ;  but  they 
never  deny  that  the  books  were  written  by  those  to 
whom  they  were  ascribed.  Thus  the  Cerinthians  and 
the  Ebionites,  who  sprang  up  while  St.  John  was  yet 
living,  wished  to  retain  the  Mosaic  law,  and  hence 
rejected  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  while  they  retained  the 
Gospel  of  Matthew.  And  Marcion,  A.  D.  130,  who 
rejected  the  Old  Testament,  and  was  excommunicated, 
though  greatly  incensed,  and  though  he  speaks  dispar¬ 
agingly  of  several  of  the  books,  yet  nowhere  intimates 
that  they  were  forgeries.  The  same  may  be  said  of  all 
the  ancient  sects. 

Enemies .  — We  have,  also,  the  indirect  testimony  of 
the  enemies  of  Christianity  —  as  Celsus,  Porphyry,  and 
Julian.  Of  these,  Celsus  flourished  only  about  a  hun¬ 
dred  years  after  the  Gospels  were  published,  and  was 
an  acute  and  bitter  adversary ;  and  it  seems  quite  im¬ 
possible  that  any  one  of  them,  much  more  the  whole, 
should  have  been  forged,  and  yet  he  not  know  or  suspect 
it.  He  attacks  the  books,  he  speaks  of  contradictions 
and  difficulties  in  them,  but  he  hints  no  suspicion  that 
they  were  forged.  Indeed,  he  claims  the  writings,  for 
he  says,  "These  things,  then,  we  have  alleged  to  you  out 
of  your  own  writings,  not  needing  any  other  weapons.” 
In  Porphyry,  born  A.  D.  233,  (the  most  sensible  and 
severe  adversary  of  Christianity  that  antiquity  can 


EVIDENCE  OF  EVERY  KIND. 


261 


produce,)  we  find  no  trace  of  any  suspicion  that  the 
Christian  writings  were  not  authentic,  though  he  pro¬ 
nounces  the  prophecy  of  Daniel  a  forgery.  Porphyry 
did  not  even  deny  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  history.  He 
admitted  that  the  miracles  were  performed  by  Christ, 
but  imputed  them  to  magic,  which  he  said  he  learned 
in  Egypt.  Julian,  commonly  called  the  Apostate, 
flourished  from  A.  D.  331  to  363.  He  quotes  the  four 
Gospels  and  the  Acts,  and  nowhere  gives  any  intima¬ 
tion  that  he  suspected  the  whole,  or  any  part  of  them, 
to  be  forgeries. 

Ancient  versions  and  manuscripts.  — Another  source 
of  evidence  is  to  be  found  in  ancient  versions  and  man¬ 
uscripts.  The  Syriac  version  was  probably  made  early 
in  the  second  century,  and  the  first  Latin  versions 
almost  as  early.  Of  course  the  New  Testament  must 
have  existed,  and  been  received  as  the  standard  of 
Christian  truth,  before  those  versions  were  made.  Of 
ancient  manuscripts,  containing  the  New  Testament  or 
parts  thereof,  there  are  several  thousands.  About  five 
hundred  of  the  most  important  have  been  collated  with 
great  care.  Many  of  them  are  of  great  antiquity.  The 
Codex  Vaticanus  is  believed,  on  very  satisfactory  evi¬ 
dence,  to  be  of  the  fourth  century,  and  the  Codex 
Alexandrinus,  of  the  fifth, — perhaps  both  much  earlier. 
Thus  these  manuscripts  connect  with  manuscripts  com¬ 
pared  by  Jerome  and  Eusebius,  A.  D.  315-420,  who 
prepared  critical  editions  of  the  New  Testament  from 
manuscripts  then  ancient.  The  prodigious  number  of 
these  manuscripts,  the  distant  countries  whence  they 
were  collected,  and  the  identity  of  their  contents  with 
the  quotations  of  the  fathers  of  different  ages,  place  the 
New  Testament  incomparably  above  all  other  ancient 
works  in  point  of  authenticity. 

Is  there,  then,  we  are  ready  to  ask,  any  kind  of  exter¬ 
nal  evidence  conceivable,  which  is  wanting  to  our  sacred 
books  ? 

£ 


t 


262 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Internal  evidence. — But,  strong  as  is  the  external 
proof,  it  hardly  equals  that  which  is  to  lie  derived  from 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  from  internal  evidence. 

We  are  little  apt  to  consider  how  difficult  the  thing 
to  be  done  was.  It  was  to  make  an  addition,  and  under 
peculiar  circumstances,  to  the  number  of  books  then 
held  sacred.  These  books  were  not  confined  to  one 
spot,  and  guarded  by  one  set  of  men,  and  shrouded  in 
mystery.  Moses  and  the  prophets  were  "  read  in  the 
synagogues  every  Sabbath  day.”  From  the  synagogue 
the  early  church  was  an  outgrowth,  as  Christianity  from 
Judaism;  and  it  was  composed  of  Jews  nurtured  to  a 
high  reverence  for  their  sacred  books,  and  to  great 
scrupulousness  in  guarding  them.  For  the  first  fifteen 
years  at  least,  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  and  those 
only,  were  read  in  the  assemblies  of  Christians.  And 
now  consider  what  it  was  for  such  men  to  receive,  indi¬ 
vidually,  and  in  numerous,  and  large,  and  independent 
bodies,  other  writings,  and  to  put  them  on  an  equality 
with  those  so  venerable,  and  held  so  sacred.  And  yet, 
within  sixty  years  this  was  done  in  respect  to  more  than 
twenty  separate  productions,  and  with  almost  entire 
unanimity.  It  was  a  marvel,  especially  looking  at  the 
origin  and  position  in  society  of  the  early  Christians, 
that  they  should  originate  productions  which  the  in¬ 
stinctive  judgments  of  men  could  tolerate  by  the  side 
of  those,  so  wonderful,  of  the  old  seers,  and  bards,  and 
prophet-kings,  even  if  they  had  not  been  regarded  as 
inspired ;  it  was,  perhaps,  a  greater  marvel  that  they 
should  incorporate  them  at  once  with  those  productions, 
as  a  part  of  their  sacred  books.  According  to  every 
law  of  human  thought  or  action,  this  could  not  have 
been  done  without  the  most  searching  scrutiny.  The 
world  has  nothing  to  show  like  it.  It  was  as  if  some 
man,  or  body  of  men,  should  attempt  to  add  a  book  to 
our  Bible,  that  should  be  universally  received. 


SCRUTINY  BY  FRIENDS  AND  FOES. 


263 


Could  not  be  forged.  — For,  if  these  writings  are  not 
authentic,  they  must  be  forgeries  ;  and  they  are  of  such 
a  character,  and  purport  to  have  been  written  under 
such  circumstances,  as  to  render  a  forgery  of  them 
impossible.  Here,  for  example,  are  no  fewer  than  nine 
letters  which  claim  to  have  been  written  to  numerous 
bodies  of  men,  and  received  by  them ;  and  can  any 
man  believe  that  such  letters,  often  containing  severe 
reproof,  could  have  been  received  and  read,  as  we  know 
these  were,  by  the  early  Christians,  if  they  were  for¬ 
geries  ?  "  Come  now,”  says  Tertullian,  —  born  only  sixty 
years  after  the  death  of  St.  John,  —  "  come  now,  thou 
who  wilt  exercise  thy  curiosity  more  profitably  in  the 
business  of  thy  salvation,  run  through  the  apostolical 
churches  in  which  the  very  chairs  of  the  apostles  still 
preside,  in  which  their  authentic  letters  are  recited, 
sounding  forth  the  voice  and  representing  the  counte¬ 
nance  of  each.”  Can  any  man  suppose  that  letters  thus 
spoken  of  at  that  early  day  could  be  forged  ?  Besides, 
when  could  they  have  been  forged  ?  Not,  certainly, 
during  the  lives  of  the  apostles,  for  then  they  would 
have  confuted  them  ;  and,  after  their  death,  it  is  morally 
impossible  such  letters  should  have  been  received  as 
from  them  by  any  body  of  Christians. 

Opposed  by  both  heathen  and  Jews.  —  It  is  to  be 
added,  also,  that  Christianity  sprang  up  in  the  midst 
of  opposition,  keen-sighted  and  relentless.  It  was 
opposed  by  Heathenism  and  by  Judaism,  and,  more¬ 
over,  there  were  always  in  its  own  bosom  some  who 
were  false-hearted  and  ready  to  betray  it.  During 
almost  three  hundred  years  it  was  often  the  subject  of 
violent  and  bloody  persecutions  ;  and,  in  such  circum¬ 
stances,  it  is  morally  impossible  that  twenty-seven  books 
should  be  forged,  and  imposed  as  authentic  upon  both 
friends  and  foes,  and  no  one,  for  the  first  four  hundred 
years,  hint  a  suspicion  of  the  authenticity  of  the  most 


264 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


of  the  books.  When  Celsus  reproached  the  Christians 
with  dissensions,  in  the  second  century,  Origen  admits 
the  truth  of  the  accusation,  but  says,  nevertheless,  that 
the  four  Gospels  were  received  by  the  whole  church 
of  God  under  heaven. 

Language  and  style.  —  Again  :  the  authenticity  of 
the  New  Testament  is  confirmed  by  the  language  and 
style  in  which  it  is  written.  It  could  have  been  written 
only  by  men  who  were  born  Jews,  and  who  lived  be¬ 
fore  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Every  where  their 
Jewish  prejudices  and  habits  of  thought  appear,  and 
the  references  to  Jerusalem  and  the  temple,  as  then 
standing,  are  so  blended  with  the  whole  narrative,  that 
we  feel  it  impossible  it  should  not  have  been  written  at 
that  time.  This,  however,  is  still  more  obvious  from 
the  peculiar  language  in  which  the  New  Testament  is 
written.  Greek  was  then  a  kind  of  universal  language  ; 
but  the  Greek  spoken  in  Palestine  was  not  the  Greek 
of  Attica.  It  was  Hebraic  Greek  —  that  is,  Greek 
mixed  with  the  peculiar  dialect  of  Hebrew  then  in  use 
in  Palestine ;  and  in  such  Greek  are  the  Gospels  writ¬ 
ten.  After  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  this  peculiar 
dialect  ceased.  Probably  there  was  not  a  man  living, 
after  the  death  of  the  apostle  John,  who  could  have 
blended  the  peculiar  elements  of  language  which  we 
find  in  the  New  Testament.  But,  if  these  books  were 
written  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  they  must 
be  authentic,  because  no  books  could  have  been  forged 
in  the  names  of  the  apostles,  while  they  were  yet  living, 
and  have  been  undetected. 

Judgment  by  separate  churches.  —  It  is  to  be  re¬ 
marked,  too,  that  the  books  of  the  New"  Testament 
were  received  and  judged  of  by  the  churches  separately. 
The  Gospel  of  Matthew  was  received  by  the  churches 
on  its  own  merits,  and  the  question  of  its  reception  was 
not  embarrassed  by  that  of  any  other  book.  So  the 


MICHAJUJS. 


265 


Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  church  at  Rome  was  judged  of 
as  authentic  by  that  church,  without  any  reference  to 
the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  If,  therefore,  the  New 
Testament  is  a  forgery,  it  is  not  an  instance  of  a  single 
successful  forgery,  but  of  twenty-seven  separate  ones, 
imposed  upon  intelligent  men  whose  interests  were  all 
involved  in  detecting  the  fraud.  If,  now,  we  consider 
how  seldom  literary  forgeries  are  undertaken — -that 
they  are,  in  fact,  nearly  or  quite  unprecedented,  unless 
they  come  out  under  the  shadow  of  some  great  name 

—  that  no  possible  motive  can  be  assigned  for  the 
forgery  of  such  books  ;  —  if  we  consider  the  difficulty 
of  it  in  any  case,  and  the  moral  impossibility  of  it  in 
reference  to  books  of  such  pretensions,  and  that  have, 
in  fact,  commanded  the  reverence  of  the  civilized  world, 

—  I  think  we  shall  feel  that  twenty-seven  successful 
forgeries,  within  the  space  of  sixty  years,  is  a  supposi¬ 
tion  not  to  be  entertained  for  a  moment. 

Not  one  mark  of  spuriousness.  —  Once  more  :  the 
reasons  which  render  the  authenticity  of  a  work  sus¬ 
picious  are  thus  laid  down  by  Michaelis  :  1 .  When 

doubts  have  been  entertained,  from  its  first  appearance, 
whether  it  was  the  work  of  its  reputed  author.  2. 
When  the  immediate  friends  of  the  author  have  denied 
it  to  be  his.  3.  When  a  long  series  of  years  has 
elapsed,  after  his  death,  in  which  the  book  was  un¬ 
known,  and  in  which  it  must  have  been  mentioned  or 
quoted,  had  it  been  in  existence.  4.  When  the  style 
is  different  from  his  other  writings,  or,  in  case  no  others 
remain,  from  what  might  be  reasonably  expected.  5. 
When  events  are  recorded  which  happened  later  than 
the  time  of  the  pretended  author.  6.  When  opinions 
are  advanced  contradictory  to  those  which  he  is  known 
to  have  advanced  in  other  writings.  Of  these  marks 
of  spuriousness,  not  one  can  be  attached  to  a  single 
book  of  the  New  Testament. 


2bt>  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Contrasted  with  other  books.  —  I  observe,  finally, 
that  this  evidence  is,  if  possible,  heightened  by  the 
contrast  in  all  respects  between  our  books  and  those 
which  have  been  regarded  as  spurious.  The  fact  that 
such  books  existed  is  sometimes  made  use  of  to  create 
the  impression  that  they  were  once  of  nearly  equal 
authority  with  ours,  and  that  there  was  difficulty  and 
uncertainty  in  making  the  distinction.  Nothing  can  be 
farther  from  the  truth.  For,  1.  There  is  no  evidence 
that  those  spurious  or  apocryphal  books  existed  during 
the  first  century ;  indeed,  they  all  were  manifestly  for¬ 
geries  of  a  later  age.  2.  No  Christian  history,  besides 
our  Gospels  and  the  Acts,  is  quoted  by  any  writer 
now  known  within  three  hundred  years  after  the  birth 
of  Christ.  3.  None  of  these  apocryphal  writings  were 
read  in  the  churches.  4.  None  of  them  were  ever 
admitted  to  the  volume  of  the  New  Testament.  5. 
Nor  do  they  appear  in  any  catalogue.  6.  Nor  were 
they  alleged  by  different  parties,  in  their  controversies, 
as  of  authority.  7.  Nor  were  they  the  subjects  of 
commentaries,  or  versions,  or  expositions.  8.  Nor 
were  they  ever  received  by  Christians  of  after  ages, 
but  were  almost  universally  reprobated  by  them. 

And,  now,  is  not  this  point  proved?  Is  it  not  fully 
established  that  these  books  were  written  by  the  men 
whose  names  they  bear,  and  at  the  time  when  they 
purport  to  have  been  written? 

Integrity.  —  I  close  by  a  very  brief  reference  to  a 
single  point  more,  which  properly  belongs  here.  How 
do  we  know  that  the  integrity  of  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament  has  been  preserved?  I  answer,  first,  we 
know  it  from  the  nature  of  the  case.  Augustine, 
in  the  fourth  century,  reasoning  with  a  heretic,  puts 
this  Avell.  "If  any  one,”  says  he,  "should  charge  you 
with  having  interpolated  some  texts  alleged  by  you, 


INTEGRITY. 


267 


would  you  not  immediately  answer,  that  it  is  impossible 
for  you  to  do  such  a  thing  in  books  read  by  all  Chris¬ 
tians —  and  that,  if  any  such  attempt  had  been  made 
by  you,  it  would  have  been  presently  discerned  and 
defeated,  by  comparing  the  ancient  copies?  Well,  then, 
for  the  same  reason  that  the  Scriptures  can  not  be  cor¬ 
rupted  by  you,  they  can  not  be  corrupted  by  any  othei 
people.”  We  know  the  same  thing,  secondly,  from  the 
agreement  of  our  books  with  the  quotations  in  the 
works  of  the  early  Christian  fathers.  These  quotations 
are  so  abundant  that  almost  the  whole  of  the  New 
Testament  might  be  gathered  from  them ;  and  yet, 
except  in  six  or  seven  verses,  there  is  an  agreement  in 
all  material  respects  between  those  quotations  and  the 
corresponding  parts  of  our  books.  We  know  it,  thirdly, 
from  the  entire  agreement  of  our  books  with  ancient 
versions.  The  old  Syriac  version,  called  Peshito,  was 
certainly  in  use  before  the  close  of  the  second  century. 
This  wTas  not  known  in  Europe  before  the  close  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  It  came  down  by  a  line  perfectly 
independent  of  that  by  which  our  Greek  Testament  was 
received ;  yet,  when  the  two  came  to  be  compared,  the 
difference  was  altogether  unimportant.  Is  it  possible 
that  evidence  should  be  more  satisfactory  ? 

Various  readings.  —  The  subject  of  various  readings 
was  at  one  time  so  presented  as  to  alarm  and  disquiet 
those  not  acquainted  with  the  facts.  When  a  person 
hears  it  stated  that,  in  the  collation  of  the  manuscripts 
for  Griesbach’s  edition  of  the  New  Testament,  as  many 
as  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  various  readings 
were  discovered,  he  is  ready  to  suppose  that  every 
thing  must  be  in  a  state  of  uncertainty.  A  statement 
of  the  facts  relieves  every  difficulty.  The  truth  is,  that 
not  one  in  a  thousand  makes  any  perceptible,  or  at 
least  important  variation  in  the  meaning ;  that  they 
consist  almost  entirely  of  the  small  and  obvious  mis- 


268 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


takes  of  transcribers,  such  as  the  omission  or  transpo¬ 
sition  of  letters,  errors  in  grammar,  in  the  use  of  one 
word  for  another  of  a  similar  meaning,  and  in  changing 
the  position  of  words  in  a  sentence.  But,  by  all  the 
omissions,  and  all  the  additions,  contained  in  all  the 
manuscripts,  no  fact,  no  doctrine,  no  duty  prescribed, 
in  our  authorized  version,  is  rendered  either  obscure  or 
doubtful. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  rubbish  of  antiquity  did 
gather  around  these  pillars  of  our  evidence.  The  keen 
eye  of  the  infidel  saw  it,  and  he  hoped  to  show  that 
they  rested  upon  rubbish  alone.  But,  like  every  similar 
attempt,  at  whatever  point  directed,  a  full  examination 
has  served  only  to  show  how  firm  is  the  rock  upon 
which  that  church  rests  which  is  w  the  pillar  and  groun  1 
of  the  truth.” 


LECTURE  X. 

ARGUMENT  TWELFTH;  CREDIBILITY  OF  THE  BOOKS  OF  THE 

NEW  TESTAMENT. 

Our  next  subject,  as  will  have  been  anticipated,  is 
the  credibility  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament ; 
and  I  proceed  directly  to  the  discussion.  This  question 
is  purely  one  of  historical  evidence  ;  and  if  there  is 
left  for  me  very  little  that  is  new,  either  in  the  matter 
or  in  the  manner  of  presenting  it,  I  shall  yet  hope  for 
attention,  from  the  important  place  which  this  point 
holds,  and  always  must,  in  the  Christian  argument. 

Authenticity.  —  And  the  first  consideration  which  I 
adduce  in  favor  of  the  credibility  of  these  books  is 
their  authenticity.  It  was  because  I  regarded  every 
testimony  adduced,  in  the  last  lecture,  to  prove  the 
authenticity  of  the  gospel  histories  as  also  a  testimony 
to  their  truth,  that  I  dwelt  so  fully  on  that  subject. 
The  fathers  did  not  quote  so  largely  from  those  books 
because  they  were  written  by  apostolical  men,  but 
because  they  regarded  them  as  true,  and  as  having  an 
authority  paramount  to  all  others.  The  testimony  of 
antiquity,  therefore,  thus  given  to  the  authenticity  of 
these  books,  is  equivalent  to  its  testimony  to  the  reality 
of  the  facts  which  they  contain. 

Moreover,  when  men  publish  an  account  of  facts 
under  their  own  names,  especially  of  facts  that  are 

within  the  immediate  knowledge  of  the  most  of  their 

(266) 


t 


270 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


readers,  and  facts,  too,  that  have  excited  great  atten¬ 
tion,  they  must  either  publish  what  is  substantially 
true,  or  willfully,  and  without  motive,  sacrifice  both 
character  and  reputation.  There  is  no  instance  on 
record  of  the  publication  by  any  one,  under  his  own 
name,  of  an  account  purporting  to  be  of  facts  that  were 
public,  and  recent,  and  concerning  which  a  deep  inter¬ 
est  was  felt  by  the  community,  which  was  not  mainly 
true.  But  here  are  four  men  who  claim  to  have  been 
witnesses  of  most  of  the  events  which  they  relate,  or, 
if  not,  to  have  had  a  perfect  knowledge  of  them. 
These  events  must  have  been  known,  at  the  time  the 
books  were  published,  to  thousands  of  others,  both 
friends  and  foes,  as  well  as  to  them.  Nothing  could 
have  prevented  the  instant  detection  of  any  falsehood ; 
and  yet  these  men  published  their  histories  at  the  time, 
in  the  face  of  the  world,  and  on  the  spot  where  the 
transactions  took  place.  This  consideration  alone  ought 
to  be  decisive,  and  in  any  other  case  it  would  be. 

Means  of  knowing  the  facts.  —  But,  secondly,  these 
books  are  credible  because  the  authors  of  them  had  the 
best  possible  means  of  knowing  the  facts  which  they 
state.  For  the  most  part,  they  had  a  personal  knowl¬ 
edge  of  them.  Compare  our  evidence,  in  this  respect, 
with  that  for  other  ancient  events.  The  main  facts 
were  not  such  as  were  concealed  in  cabinets,  or  in  the 
intrigues  of  a  court,  but  were  few,  and  such  as  all  might 
know.  But  of  the  events  of  the  life  of  Alexander,  we 
have  no  contemporary  historian,  and  yet  they  are  not 
doubted.  Of  how  few  of  the  events  in  the  histories  of 
Livy,  or  of  Tacitus,  had  they  personal  knowledge  ! 
With  how  few  of  the  men,  whose  lives  he  wrote,  had 
Plutarch  personal  acquaintance  !  In  some  cases,  indeed, 

« — as  in  the  account  of  the  Retreat  of  the  Ten  Thousand, 
or  the  Commentaries  of  Caesar,  —  we  have  the  storv  of 
a  person  who  was  present,  and  saw  what  he  narrates ; 


NUMBER  OF  WITNESSES. 


271 


and  no  one  can  fail  to  feel  that  the  credibility  of  those 
accounts  is  greatly  increased  by  that  circumstance.  In 
these  cases,  however,  we  have  but  a  single  witness,  and 
the  writers  are  the  heroes  of  their  own  story ;  and  still 
these  writings  are  received  with  entire  confidence. 
And  this  leads  me  to  observe, — 

The  number  of  witnesses.  —  Thirdly,  that  the  events 
recorded  in  our  books  are  worthy  of  credit  from  the 
number  of  witnesses.  To  put  this  in  its  true  light,  let 
us  suppose  that  there  should  now  be  discovered,  among 
the  ruins  of  Herculaneum,  the  writings  of  an  officer 
and  companion  of  Caesar,  giving  an  account  of  the  same 
campaigns  and  battles.  Let  us  suppose  that  there  was 
a  substantial  agreement,  but  such  incidental  differences 
as  to  show  that  the  writings  were  entirely  independent 
of  each  other ;  then,  if  we  had  before  been  inclined  to 
call  the  whole  a  fiction,  or  to  attribute  any  thing  to  the 
ignorance,  or  the  prejudices,  or  the  vanity  of  Caesar, 
we  should  feel  all  our  doubts  removed  on  those  points 
in  which  the  accounts  agreed.  And  if,  after  this,  we 
should  still  find  another  independent  manuscript,  and 
still  another,  differing  entirely  in  style  and  general 
manner,  and  yet  agreeing  in  regard  to  the  facts,  — if, 
moreover,  there  should  be  found  letters  written  in  that 
day  incidentally  confirming  these  accounts  by  many 
allusions  and  undesigned  coincidences, — we  should 
feel  that  historical  evidence  could  not  go  farther,  and 
that  skepticism  would  be  preposterous.  If  events  thus 
attested  are  not  to  be  believed,  it  will  not  be  for  want 
of  evidence.  If  they  are  not  to  be  believed,  no  ancient 
history  can  be ;  for  there  is  no  one  for  which  we  have 
any  thing  like  this  amount  of  evidence.  But  all  this 
evidence  we  have  for  the  facts  of  the  gospel.  The 
fact,  that  the  four  Gospels  and  the  Acts  were  bound  up 
together,  is  not  to  be  permitted  to  weaken  their  force 
as  separate  testimonies.  This  is  as  far  as  historical 


272 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY, 


testimony  can  go  with  respect  to  ordinary  events ;  but 
the  facts  of  Christianity  are  of  such  a  character  that 
even  this  may,  and  does,  receive  additional  confirma¬ 
tion.  If  Caesar’s  wars  had  given  rise  to  parties,  and 
these  different  parties  had  all  appealed  to  these  writings 
as  of  undoubted  authority,  and  if,  moreover,  we  had, 
at  no  distant  day,  the  distinct  admission  of  the  enemies 
of  Caesar  that  these  books  were  trustworthy  as  to  mat¬ 
ters  of  fact,  then  I  think  that  we  can  conceive  of  nothing 
that  could  be  added ;  and  all  this  we  have  in  favor  of 
the  facts  of  the  New  Testament.  If  we  lay  aside  all 
consideration  of  the  nature  of  the  events,  and  look  at 
the  evidence  alone,  we  shall  see  that  it  has  all  the  force 
of  which  historical  evidence,  as  such,  is  capable. 

Difficulties  and  discrepancies.  — It  is  true,  as  was  men¬ 
tioned  in  a  former  lecture,  that  there  are  difficulties  and 
apparent  discrepancies  in  these  accounts.  They  relate 
chiefly  to  the  two  genealogies  ;  to  the  time  of  the  taxing 
mentioned  by  Luke  ;  to  the  two  versions  of  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  to  the  time  of  the  last  supper,  and  to  the 
accounts  of  the  crucifixion,  and  of  the  resurrection. 

Require  minute  criticism. — The  explanation  of  this 
class  of  difficulties  would  require  a  minute  criticism, 
not  here  in  place.  For  this,  reference  may  be  made  to 
the  Commentaries  and  Harmonies.  It  may,  however, 
be  said  of  them  in  general,  — 

Do  not  affect  the  main  features.  —  1.  That  there  are 
none  which  affect  the  great  features  of  the  narrative. 

Are  mostly  negative.  —  2.  That  many  of  them  are 
based  on  mere  omissions.  It  is  said,  for  example,  that 
there  is  a  discrepancy  between  the  account  by  Matthew 
and  Mark  of  the  demoniacs.  Matthew  says  there  were 
two,  while  Mark  mentions  but  one.  He  does  not  say 
there  was  not  another ;  but  one  may  have  been  less 
prominent  and  fierce,  and  so  not  have  been  mentioned 
by  him.  In  the  same  way  it  is  objected  that  John 


DIFFICULTIES  MAY  BE  EXPLAINED.  273 

speaks  of  the  presence  of  Nicodemus  at  the  bio  *al  of 
Christ,  while  nothing  is  said  of  it  by  the  other  evange¬ 
lists  ;  and  this  is  called  a  discrepancy. 

May  be  explained.  —  3.  Of  the  above-mentioned  diffi¬ 
culties,  those  connected  with  the  accounts  of  the  resur¬ 
rection  seem  the  most  considerable  ;  and  we  may  apply 
to  all  of  them,  in  substance,  what  is  said  of  those  in 
particular,  in  a  recent  excellent  work  :  "  This  examina¬ 
tion  of  the  several  narratives  shows  us  how  many  of 
the  data  are  wanting  which  are  necessary  to  enable  us 
to  form  a  regular,  harmonious,  and  complete  history  of 
this  eventful  morning.  Each  of  the  evangelists  gives  us 
some  particulars  which  the  others  omit,  but  no  one  of 
them  aims  to  give  us  a  full  and  connected  account ;  and 
for  us  to  supply  the  missing  links  in  the  chain,  is  im¬ 
possible.  To  a  superficial  examination  there  seem  many 
discrepancies,  not  to  say  contradictions  ;  but  a  thorough 
investigation  shows  that  the  points  of  real  difference 
are  very  few,  and  that  in  several  ways  even  these  dif¬ 
ferences  may  be  removed.  Whilst  thus  we  can  not  say 
of  any  order  that  we  can  frame  that  it  is  certain,  wTe 
can  say  of  several  that  they  are  probable  ;  and  if  they 
can  not  be  proved,  neither  can  they  be  disproved. 
This  is  sufficient  for  him  who  finds  in  the  moral  char¬ 
acter  of  the  Gospels  the  highest  vouchers  for  their 
historic  truth.”  * 

Peculiar  testimony. — But  I  observe,  fourthly,  that 
this  evidence  is  powerfully  confirmed  by  the  peculiar 
testimony  which  was  given  by  their  authors  to  the  truth 
of  these  books.  To  state  one  of  the  fundamental  prop¬ 
ositions  of  Paley  :  "  There  is  satisfactory  evidence  that 
many,  professing  to  be  original  witnesses  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  miracles,  passed  their  lives  in  labors,  dangers,  and 
sufferings,  voluntarily  undergone  in  attestation  of  the 
accounts  which  they  delivered,  and  solely  in  conse- 


*  The  Life  of  our  Lord.  By  Samuel  J.  Andrews. 


274 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


quence  of  their  belief  of  those  accounts  ;  and  that  they 
also  submitted,  from  the  same  motives,  to  new  rules  of 
conduct.”  Into  the  proof  that  they  did  thus  labor  and 
suffer  Paley  enters  at  large.  But  it  is  so  obvious  that 
men  who,  in  that  day,  should  attempt  to  propagate  an 
exclusive  religion,  that  was  entirely  opposed  both  to 
Judaism  and  heathenism,  and  also  to  the  natural  pas¬ 
sions  and  inclinations  of  men,  would  be  obliged  to 
undergo  labor  and  suffering  in  proportion  to  their  sin¬ 
cerity  and  earnestness,  that  it  seems  to  me  scarcely  to 
need  proof.  Then  the  idea  of  this  is  so  much  implied 
in  the  whole  narrative,  and  regarded  as  a  matter  of 
course,  —  it  is  so  much  taken  for  granted  in  the 
exhortations,  and  promises,  and  consolations,  given  to 
the  disciples  by  Christ  himself,  and  in  the  letters  of 
the  apostles,  and  it  is  so  fully  testified  to  by  heathen 
writers, — that  I  can  not  think  it  necessary  to  dwell 
upon  it.  If,  then,  these  men  did  labor,  and  suffer,  and 
finally  die,  in  attestation  of  the  truth  of  their  accounts, 
then  are  our  books  confirmed  in  the  highest  possible 
manner,  and  as  no  other  historical  books  ever  have 
been. 

Testimony  of  others  than  the  writers. — It  was  not, 
however,  —  and  here  we  come  to  one  of  the  strongest 
points  of  the  Christian  testimony,  —  it  was  not  simply 
those  who  compiled  the  accounts  who  thus  gave  their 
testimony,  but  thousands  of  others ;  and,  though  their 
testimony  is  unwritten,  yet  it  is  so  involved  in  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  of  the  case,  that  it  comes  to  us  with  no  less 
force  than  if  they  had  certified,  under  their  own  hands 
and  seals,  the  truth  of  our  accounts.  Every  Christian 
who,  in  that  early  age,  abandoned  the  prejudices  of 
education,  and  friends,  and  property,  to  become  a 
Christian,  especially  every  one  who  was  persecuted  and 
suffered  death  for  the  cause,  gave  his  testimony,  in  the 
most  emphatic  manner  possible,  for  the  truth  of  the 


EVERY  CONVERT  A  WITNESS. 


.275 


facts  of  the  Gospels.  Every  member  of  a  church  which 
received  an  Epistle  of  Paul,  and  to  which  it  was  read, 
was  a  witness  of  its  authenticity,  and  of  the  truth  of 
the  facts  of  Christianity,  which  is  implied  in  all  his 
Epistles.  The  great  force  of  this  unwritten  testimony 
is  fully  set  forth  by  Chalmers,  as  also  the  fallacy  by 
which  we  are  so  often  led  to  feel  that  heathen  testimony 
is  superior  in  point  of  force  to  that  of  Christians,  as  if 
the  very  strength  of  conviction  which  would  lead  a  man 
to  become  a  Christian  should  not  also  furnish  the  best 
evidence  of  his  sincerity.  It  would  be  inconsistent  that 
a  heathen  should  testify  to  the  truth  of  the  religion  with¬ 
out  becoming  a  Christian,  and  it  is  surely  unreasonable 
to  make  the  very  act  by  which  he  testified,  in  the  high¬ 
est  possible  manner,  his  sincerity  and  consistency,  a 
reason  for  not  receiving  his  testimony.  This  testimony 
meets  a  positive  cavil.  It  may  be  said  that  the  eight 
writers  of  the  New  Testament  were  actuated,  in  their 
labors  and  sufferings,  by  a  desire  to  be  of  reputation, 
to  be  the  founders  of  sects,  or  to  preserve  their  consis¬ 
tency.  But  no  such  motives  can  be  imputed  to  the  mass 
of  Christians  in  that  day,  each  of  whom  did  as  really 
and  as  impressively  testify  to  his  belief  in  the  facts  of 
the  New  Testament  as  if  he  had  written  a  book.  Men 
may  have  motives  for  being  impostors,  but  they  can 
have  none  for  being  imposed  upon,  especially  when  the 
imposition  costs  them  all  that  men  usually  hold  dear. 
When,  therefore,  I  see  the  apostles  and  their  associates, 
and  especially  when  I  see  vast  numbers  of  persons,  in 
the  ordinary  walks  of  life,  preferring  to  relinquish  any 
thing,  and  to  undergo  any  thing,  rather  than  to  deny 
the  truth  of  these  facts ;  when  I  see  them  led,  one  by 
one,  or,  perhaps,  numbers  together,  to  scourging  and 
torture  ;  when  I  see  them  standing  as  martyrs,  and, 
in  that  act,  as  it  were  lifting  up  their  dying  hand  to 
heaven,  and  taking  an  oath  of  their  sincerity,  —  then  I 


276 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


know  that  they  believed  the  facts  for  which  they  died » 
then  I  think  I  have  found  the  case  of  which  Hume 
speaks,  when  he  says,  "We  can  not  make  use  of  a 
more  convincing  argument  ”  (in  proof  of  honesty) 
*'  than  to  prove  that  the  actions  ascribed  to  any  persons 
are  contrary  to  the  course  of  human  nature,  and  that 
no  human  motives,  in  such  circumstances,  could  ever 
induce  them  to  such  a  conduct.” 

Authors  neither  deceivers  nor  deceived.  —  I  observe, 
fifthly,  that  our  books  are  worthy  of  credit,  because  it 
can  be  shown  that  their  authors  were  neither  deceivers 
nor  deceived ;  and  this  is  the  only  alternative  possible 
unless  the  religion  is  true.  The  alternative  that,  unless 
Christ  and  his  apostles  were  what  they  claimed  to  be, 
they  were  either  impostors  or  dupes,  was  first  presented 
by  Pascal ;  and  since  his  time  this  whole  question  has 
often  been  argued  under  it.  The  same  thing,  in  fact, 
is  sometimes  argued  under  a  positive  form,  when  it  is 
shown  that  the  primitive  witnesses  were  both  compe¬ 
tent  and  honest.  The  only  questions  that  can  be  asked 
respecting  a  witness  are,  Is  he  competent  —  that  is,  is 
he  well  informed?  and,  Is  he  honest?  Does  he  know 
the  truth,  and  will  he  tell  it?  and  it  obviously  makes 
no  difference  whether  we  show  that  the  apostles  were 
well  informed  and  honest,  or  whether  we  show  that 
they  were  not  either  deceivers  or  deceived.  In  either 
case,  the  truth  of  the  religion  is  established. 

Not  deceivers.  —  To  one  branch  of  this  alternative 
—  that  which  supposes  the  apostles  to  have  been  de¬ 
ceivers —  all  that  was  said,  under  the  last  head,  of 
their  labors  and  sufferings,  will  apply.  It  is  not  in 
human  nature,  there  is  no  example  of  it,  for  even  one 
man  to  persevere,  through  a  long  life,  in  undergoing 
labors  and  sufferings,  and  finally  to  die,  in  attestation 
of  what  he  knew  to  be  false  ;  much  less  can  we  suppose 
that  twelve  men,  yea,  that  hundreds  and  thousands,  can 


NOT  DECEIVERS. 


277 


have  clone  this.  The  character  of  Christ  and  of  his 
apostles  in  other  respects,  and  the  nature  of  the  religion 
which  he  taught,  forbid  the  supposition  that  they  were 
deceivers.  To  suppose  that  men,  teaching  a  morality 
more  perfect  than  any  other  ever  known,  and  exempli¬ 
fying  it  in  their  conduct,  living  lives  of  great  simplicity, 
and  self-denial,  and  benevolence,  enforcing  truth  and 
honesty  by  the  most  tremendous  sanctions  of  a  future 
life,  should,  without  any  possible  advantage  to  them¬ 
selves,  die  as  martyrs  in  attestation  of  what  they  knew 
to  be  false,  is  practically  absurd. 

If  so,  by  conspiracy.  —  Moreover,  if  they  were  de¬ 
ceivers,  they  were  so  by  combination  and  conspiracy. 
From  the  nature  of  the  case  this  must  have  been  so, 
and  the  number  acquainted  with  the  secret  could  not 
have  been  small.  But  it  is  morally  impossible,  under 
the  temptations  which  we  know  assailed  them  from 
without,  and  in  the  dissensions  which,  by  their  own 
confession,  sprang  up  among  themselves,  that  such  a 
combination  of  falsehood  should  have  held  together. 
A  readiness  to  deceive  always  implies  selfishness  ;  and, 
in  such  a  company  of  deceivers,  there  would  have  been 
some  one  to  expose  any  iniquity  if  there  had  been  any 
to  expose.  I  omit  here,  what  I  have  very  briefly  no¬ 
ticed  in  another  lecture  —  the  general  air  of  truth  and 
sincerity  in  these  narratives,  their  simplicity,  their 
candor,  their  particularity,  their  minute  and  life-like 
touches.  But  I  do  say  that,  in  the  midst  of  all  the 
varieties  of  human  conduct,  there  are  some  principles 
as  settled  as  the  laws  of  physical  nature ;  and  that  for 
men  to  combine  to  propagate  such  a  story  as  this,  and 
to  devote  their  lives  to  this  object,  and  to  die  solely  in 
attestation  of  it,  when  they  knew  it  to  be  false,  is  as 
contrary  to  a  fixed  and  uniform  experience  as  any  mir¬ 
acle  can  be.  These  men,  then,  could  not  have  been 
deceivers. 


278 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY . 


Not  deceived.  — But  neither,  on  the  other  hand,  could 
they  have  been  deceived.  This  is  evident  from  the 
nature  of  the  facts,  and  from  their  character  as  indicated 
by  their  writings.  And  here  we  are  to  keep  in  mind 
the  distinction  between  testimony  to  facts,  and  infer¬ 
ences,  or  doctrines,  or  opinions.  The  apostles  certainly 
knew  whether  there  was,  or  was  not,  such  a  person  as 
Jesus  Christ;  whether  he  called  them  to  be  his  dis¬ 
ciples  ;  whether  he  spoke  the  discourses  they  have 
recorded ;  whether  multitudes  followed  him ;  whether 
he  was  crucified.  Nor,  if  we  consider  the  number  and 
character  of  his  miracles,  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
were  performed,  is  it  more  possible  they  should  have 
been  deceived  respecting  them.  We  read  of  their 
bringing  to  him  great  multitudes  of  '*  sick  folk,”  with 
every  variety  of  disease,  and  of  his  healing  them  all, 
of  his  giving  sight  to  the  blind,  to  those  born  blind ; 
of  his  raising  the  dead.  And  all  this  he  did  openly, 
before  friends  and  enemies.  Now,  that  men  could  be 
deceived  respecting  acts  of  this  kind,  repeated  for 
years,  under  all  varieties  of  circumstances,  capable  of 
being  tested  by  all  the  senses, — that  they  could,  for 
example,  have  failed  to  know  that  Lazarus  was  dead 
when  they  had  the  evidence  of  it  given  at  his  tomb,  or 
that  he  was  alive  when  they  conversed  and  ate  with 
him,  —  is  impossible.  Here  is  nothing  that  can  be 
resolved  into  any  false  perception,  no  mere  momentary 
effect ;  nor  can  there  be  an}r  doubt  whether  the  events, 
if  they  took  place,  were  miraculous.  But  not  only  did 
Christ  himself  work  miracles,  —  he  communicated  to 
his  disciples  that  power.  They  retained  it  long  after 
his  ascension,  and  they  could  not  have  been  deceived 
in  supposing  they  wrought  the  cures  related,  if  they 
did  not.  Either  we  must  abandon  our  faith  in  the 
testimony  of  the  senses,  or  we  must  admit  that  events 
thus  tested  really  took  place.  No  stretch  of  enthusiasm 


NOT  DECEIVED, 


279 


could  have  led  them  to  believe  that  they  saw  such  things 
if  they  did  not  see  them.  No  enthusiasm  is  sufficient 
to  account  for  the  belief  of  so  many,  that  they  saw  the 
Saviour  after  his  resurrection,  and  conversed  and  ate 
with  him,  and,  like  Thomas,  could  touch  his  hands  and 
his  side.  If  Christ  did  not  rise,  it  is  equally  impossible 
to  account,  on  the  supposition  that  they  were  deceived, 
for  their  belief  that  he  did  rise,  and  for  the  fact  that 
the  body  was  not  produced  by  the  Jews. 

Not  enthusiastic  or  superstitious. — But  if  we  look 
into  the  writings  of  these  men,  we  see  no  signs  of  su¬ 
perstitious  weakness,  or  of  enthusiastic  fervors.  There 
is  nothing  in  their  character,  aside  from  their  relation  of 
miraculous  events,  and  their  maintaining  their  testimony 
at  all  hazards,  that  bears  any  marks  of  enthusiasm. 
On  the  contrary,  their  writings  are  marked  with  great 
good  sense  and  sobriety.  There  are  no  extravagant 
expressions,  no  indications  of  excessive  emotion,  no 
high-wrought  description,  no  praise,  and  no  censure. 
There  is  a  simple  statement  of  the  facts  of  the  life  of 
Christ,  and  a  record  of  his  discourses.  Such  men  could 
not  have  been  deceived  for  so  long  a  time  respecting 
such  facts. 

But,  if  they  were  neither  deceivers  nor  deceived,  then 
the  facts  took  place,  and  the  religion  is  true. 

Leslie's  " Short  Method .”  —  We  now  come  to  an  argu¬ 
ment  for  the  credibility  of  the  facts  contained  in  our 
books,  which  never  has  been  answered,  and  never  can 
be.  Infidels  have  repeatedly  been  challenged  to  answer 
it,  but  they  have  never  made  the  attempt.  It  is  the 
argument  of  Leslie  in  his  "  Short  Method  with  the 
Deists.”  This  argument  rests  solely  upon  the  peculiar¬ 
ity  of  Christian  evidence,  already  mentioned,  by  which 
the  truth  of  the  religion  is  indissolubly  connected  with 
certain  matters  of  fact  which  could  originally  be  judged 
of  by  the  senses,  and  also  upon  the  fact  that  there  exist 


280 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


in  the  church  certain  ordinances  commemorative  of 
those  facts.  Thus  the  truth  of  our  religion  seems  to 
be  embodied  in  institutions  that  now  exist,  and  in  ob¬ 
servances  that  pass  before  our  eyes.  The  object  of 
Leslie  is  to  show,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  —  for 
here  we  make  very  little  reference  to  written  testimo¬ 
ny, —  that  the  matters  of  fact  stated  could  not  have 
been  received  at  the  time  unless  they  were  true,  and 
that  the  observances  could  never  have  originated  except 
in  connection  with  the  facts.  In  showing  this,  he  lays 
down  four  rules,  and  asserts  that  any  matter  of  fact  in 
which  these  four  rules  meet  must  be  true,  and  chal¬ 
lenges  the  world  to  show  any  instance  of.  any  supposed 
matter  of  fact,  thus  authenticated,  that  has  ever  - been 
shown  to  be  false. 

Four  rules. — His  four  rules  are  these:  1.  "That 
the  matter  of  fact  be  such  that  men’s  outward  senses, 
their  eyes  and  ears,  may  be  judges  of  it.”  2.  "That 
it  be  done  publicly,  in  the  face  of  the  world.”  3.  "  That 
not  only  public  monuments  be  kept  up  in  memory  of 
it,  but  some  outward  actions  be  performed.”  4.  "  That 
such  monuments,  and  such  actions,  or  observances,  be 
instituted,  and  do  commence  from  the  time  that  the 
matter  of  fact  was  done.” 

The  first  two  rules. — "The  first  two  rules  make  it 
impossible  for  any  such  matter  of  fact  to  be  imposed 
upon  men  at  the  time ,  because  every  man’s  eyes,  and 
ears,  and  senses,  would  contradict  it.”  For  example, 
if  any  man  should  affirm  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  this 
city  yesterday,  or  last  year,  walked  to  Governor’s  Isl¬ 
and  and  returned  on  dry  ground,  while  the  water  was 
divided  and  stood  in  heaps  on  each  side  of  them,  it 
would  be  impossible  that  he  should  be  believed,  because 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  would  know  better.  It 
would  be  one  of  those  things  respecting  which  the  un¬ 
learned  and  the  young  could  judge  as  well  as  the  learned 


Leslie’s  rules.  281 

and  the  more  experienced.  Equally  impossible  is  it 
that  the  children  of  Israel,  of  that  generation ,  should 
have  believed  that  they  passed  through  the  Red  Sea,  or 
went  out  and  gathered  manna  every  morning,  or  drank 
water  from  the  rock,  or  that  the  law  was  given  with  the 
terror  and  solemnity  described  in  the  Bible,  if  these 
things  did  not  happen.  Not  less  impossible  is  it  that 
the  five  thousand  should  have  believed  they  were  fed 
by  Christ ;  or  that  the  relatives  of  Lazarus,  and  the 
Jews  who  knew  him,  should  have  believed  that  he  was 
raised  from  the  dead,  or  the  parents  and  friends  of  the 
man  born  blind,  that  he  was  made  to  see ;  or  that  the 
multitudes  before  whom  he  healed  the  lame,  and  the 
sick  of  -  every  description,  should  have  believed  that 
these  events  took  place,  if  they  did  not.  These  mira¬ 
cles  are  of  such  a  nature,  that,  unless  they  were  really 
wrought,  it  is  impossible  they  should  have  been  be¬ 
lieved  at  the  time. 

'’Therefore  it  only  remains  that  such  matter  of  fact 
might  be  invented  some  time  after,  when  the  men  of 
that  generation  wherein  the  thing  was  said  to  be  done 
are  all  past  and  gone ;  and  the  credulity  of  after  ages 
might  be  imposed  upon  to  believe  that  things  were  done 
in  former  ages  which  were  not. 

The  last  two  rules .  —  "And  for  this  the  last  two  rules 
secure  us  as  much  as  the  first  two  rules  in  the  former 
case ;  for,  whenever  such  a  matter  of  fact  came  to  be 
invented,  if  not  only  monuments  were  said  to  remain 
of  it,  but  likewise  that  public  actions  and  observances 
were  constantly  used  ever  since  the  matter  of  fact  was 
said  to  be  done,  the  deceit  must  be  detected  by  no  such 
monuments  appearing,  and  by  the  experience  of  every 
man,  woman,  and  child,  who  must  know  that  no  such 
actions  or  observances  were  ever  used  by  them.”  "  For 
example,”  continues  Leslie,  "suppose  I  should  now 
invent  a  story  of  such  a  thing  done  a  thousand  years 


282 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY . 


ago  ;  I  might  perhaps  get  some  to  believe  it ;  but  if  I 
say  that  not  only  such  a  thing  was  done,  but  that,  from 
that  day  to  this,  every  man,  at  the  age  of  twelve  years, 
had  a  joint  of  his  little  finger  cut  off ;  and  that  every 
man  in  the  nation  did  want  a  joint  of  such  a  finger  ;  and 
that  tliis  institution  was  said  to  be  part  of  the  matter 
of  fact  done  so  many  years  ago,  and  vouched  as  a  proof 
and  confirmation  of  it,  and  as  having  descended  without 
interruption,  and  been  constantly  practiced,  in  memory 
of  such  matter  of  fact,  all  along  from  the  time  that  such 
matter  of  fact  was  done ;  —  I  say  it  is  impossible  I 
should  be  believed  in  such  a  case,  because  every  one 
could  contradict  me  as  to  the  mark  of  cutting  off  the 
joint  of  the  finger ;  and  that,  being  a  part  of  my  origi¬ 
nal  matter  of  fact,  must  demonstrate  the  whole  to  be 
false.” 

Application  to  boohs  of  Moses.  —  The  case  here  put 
is  not  stronger  than  that  either  of  the  books  of  Moses, 
or  of  the  New  Testament.  For,  at  whatever  time  it 
might  have  been  attempted  to  impose  the  books  of 
Moses  upon  a  subsequent  age,  it  would  have  been  im¬ 
possible,  because  they  contain  the  laws  and  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  regulations  of  the  Jews,  which  the  books 
affirm  were  adopted  at  the  time  of  Moses,  and  were 
constantly  in  force  from  that  time ;  and  because  they 
contain  an  account  of  the  institution  of  the  passover, 
which  they  assert  to  have  been  observed  in  consequence 
of  a  particular  fact.  If,  then,  a  book  had  been  put 
forth  at  a  particular  time,  stating  that  the  Jews  had 
obeyed  certain  very  peculiar  laws,  and  had  a  certain 
priesthood,  and  had  observed  the  passover  from  the 
time  of  Moses,  while  they  had  never  heard  of  these 
laws,  or  of  this  priesthood,  or  of  a  passover,  it  is  im¬ 
possible  the  book  should  have  been  received.  Nothing 
could  have  saved  such  a  book  from  scorn  or  utter 
neglect. 


CHRISTIAN  ORDINANCES. 


283 


To  the  New  Testament.  — But  what  the  Levitical  law, 
and  the  priesthood,  and  the  passover,  were  to  the  Jews, 
baptism,  and  the  Christian  ministry,  and  the  Lord’s 
supper,  are  to  Christians.  It  is  a  part  of  the  records 
of  the  Gospels  that  these  were  instituted  by  Christ ; 
that  they  were  commanded  by  him  to  be  continued  till 
the  end  of  time,  and  were  actually  continued  and  ob¬ 
served  at  the  time  when  the  Gospels  purport  to  have 
been  written  —  that  is,  before  the  destruction  of  Jeru¬ 
salem.  But  if  these  books  were  fictions .  invented  after 
the  time  of  Christ,  there  would  have  been  at  that  time 
no  Christian  baptism,  nor  order  of  Christian  ministers, 
nor  sacrament  of  the  supper,  thus  derived  from  his 
appointment;  and  that,  alone,  would  have  demonstrated 
the  whole  to  be  false.  Our  books  suppose  these  insti¬ 
tutions  to  exist ;  they  give  an  account  of  them ;  and  it 
is  impossible  they  should  have  been  received  where  they 
did  not  exist.  It  is,  therefore,  impossible  that  these 
books  should  have  been  received  at  the  time  the  facts 
are  said  to  have  taken  place,  or  at  any  subsequent  time, 
unless  those  facts  really  did  take  place.  We  now  re¬ 
gard  the  sacrament  of  the  supper  as  an  essential  part 
of  the  religion ;  it  was  so  regarded  by  our  fathers  ;  nor 
can  we  conceive  that  it  should  have  been  otherwise  up 
to  the  very  time  when  the  religion  was  founded.  Thus 
we  have  a  visible  sign  and  pledge  of  the  truth  of  our 
religion,  handed  down,  independently  of  written  testi¬ 
mony,  from  age  to  age  ;  and  the  force  of  which,  age 
has  no  tendency  to  diminish. 

Strength  of  the  evidences.  —  Perhaps  we  do  not  suffi¬ 
ciently  dwell  on  the  great  strength  which  the  Christian 
evidences  derive  from  this  proof,  or  notice  the  contrast 
it  makes  between  the  evidence  for  the  facts  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  and  those  of  ordinary  history.  Not  only  is  it 
impossible  to  point  out  any  statement  of  fact,  substan¬ 
tiated  by  these  four  marks,  that  can  be  shown  to  be 


284 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


false,  but  none  of  the  best  authenticated  facts  of  ancient 
history  have  them  all.  The  fourth  of  July,  as  observed 
by  us,  may  illustrate  the  effects  of  such  commemorative 
ordinances  as  guarding  against  false  historical  accounts. 
For  any  man  to  have  invented  the  New  Testament  after 
the  time  of  Christ,  and  to  have  attempted  to  cause  it 
to  be  received,  would  have  been  as  if  a  man  had  writ¬ 
ten  an  account  of  the  Revolution,  and  of  the  celebration 
of  this  day  from  the  first,  when  no  revolution  was  ever 
heard  of,  and  no  one  had  ever  celebrated  the  fourth  of 
July.  Nor,  when  such  a  festival  was  once  established, 
would  it  be  possible  to  introduce  any  account  of  its  ori¬ 
gin  essentially  different  from  the  true  one.  But  the 
ease  of  the  Christian  religion  is  much  stronger  ;  because 
we  have  several  different  institutions  which  must  have 
sprung  up  at  its  origin  ;  because  baptism  and  the  Lord’s 
supper  have  occurred  so  much  more  frequently ;  and 
because  the  latter  has  always  been  considered  the  chief 
rite  of  a  religion  to  which  men  have  been  more  attached 
than  to  liberty  or  to  life. 

Two  great  arguments. — Thus  I  have  brought  into 
close  juxtaposition  these  two  great  arguments.  We 
have  seen  that  it  was  impossible  that  the  apostles  should 
have  been  either  deceivers  or  deceived ;  and  that  the 
books  could  not  have  been  received,  either  at  the  time 
they  purport  to  have  been  written,  or  at  any  subsequent 
time,  if  the  facts  recorded  had  not  taken  place. 

Credible  because  no  others. — But  again:  our  books 
are  credible  because  there  are  no  others.  That  such  a 
movement  as  Christianity  must  have  been,  involving 
the  origin  of  so  many  new  institutions,  and  such  eccle¬ 
siastical  and  social  changes,  should  have  originated  at 
such  a  time,  and  in  such  a  place,  and  that  no  written 
documents  should  have  been  drawn  forth  by  it,  is  in¬ 
credible.  And  that  the  true  account  should  have  per¬ 
ished,  leaving  not  a  vestige  behind  it,  and  that  false 


MIRACLES  PECULIAR. 


285 


ones,  and  such  as  these,  should  have  been  substituted, 
is  impossible.  Of  the  origin  of  such  institutions  we 
should  expect  some  account.  That  of  our  books  is 
adequate  and  satisfactory.  There  is  nothing  contradic¬ 
tory  to  it,  for  even  spurious  writings  confirm  the  truth 
of  our  books,  and  there  is  no  vestige  of  any  other. 

Because  of  the  character  of  the  miracles .  — I  will  only 
add,  in  this  general  department  of  evidence,  that  our 
books  are  credible  because  they  contain  accounts  of  such 
miracles.  In  the  second  lecture,  I  spoke  of  miracles  as 
the  proper  and  only  adequate  seal  of  a  message  from 
God,  and  also  noticed  the  peculiar  import  of  those 
words  of  Nicodemus,  "We  know  that  no  man  can  do 
these  miracles  that  thou  doest  except  God  be  with  him,” 
in  which  it  seems  to  be  implied  that  the  character  of 
the  miracle,  as  well  as  the  mere  fact  that  a  miracle  was 
wrought,  may  have  something  to  do  with  the  weight 
and  bearing  of  its  evidence.  I  have  recently  met  with 
a  passage,  in  "  The  Process  of  Historical  Proof,”  by 
Isaac  Taylor,  in  which,  from  a  comparison  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  miracles  with  the  prodigies  to  which  impostors  have 
made  pretension,  he  asserts  that  they  so  bear  the  stamp 
of  divinity  upon  them  as  to  stand  in  no  need  of  external 
proof.  Perhaps  this  is  too  strongly  stated,  but  the 
thought  is  one  deserving  of  attention.  "Whoever,” 
says  he,  "is  duly  informed  of  the  state  of  mankind  in 
ancient  times,  and  is  aware  of  the  invariable  character 
of  the  preternatural  events  or  prodigies  which  were 
talked  of  among  the  Greeks,  Romans,  and  Asiatics, 
(the  Jews  excepted,  whose  notions  were  derived  from 
another  source,)  must  allow  that  the  miracles  recorded 
to  have  been  performed  by  Christ  and  his  apostles  differ 
totally  from  all  such  portents  and  prodigies.  The  be¬ 
neficent  restorations  which  followed  the  word  or  the 
touch  of  Him  who  came,  not  to  destroy  life,  but  to 
save,  were,  if  the  expression  may  be  allowed,  perfectly 


286 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


in  the  style  of  the  Creator ;  they  held  forth  such  exhi¬ 
bitions  of  an  absolute  control  over  the  material  world 
as  were  most  significant  of  the  power  of  the  doctrine 
to  restore  health  to  the  soul.  If  the  idea  of  the  mo¬ 
rality  taught  by  Christ  was  absolutely  new,  so  likewise 
was  the  idea  of  the  miracles  performed  by  him  to 
enforce  it.”  .  .  . 

"  Were  there  room  to  doubt  what  is  the  character  of 
the  native  imagination  of  enthusiasts  —  of  fanatics  — 
of  interested  priests  —  when  they  have  devised  the 
means  of  giving  credit  to  their  fraudulent  usurpations 
over  the  consciences  of  their  fellows,  we  might  read 
the  history  of  superstition  in  ancient  Egypt,  India,  or 
Greece  ;  or,  if  that  were  not  enough,  we  might  turn  to 
the  history  of  those  'lying  wonders,’ upon  which  the 
ministers  of  the  Romish  religion  in  modern  times  have 
rested  their  pretensions.”  A  missionary  from  India 
informs  me,  that  the  traditionary  miracles  of  that  coun¬ 
try,  at  the  present  time,  are  generally  connected  with 
stories  the  most  whimsical  and  absurd ;  that  they  were 
wrought  to  establish  no  principle,  and  not  unfrequently 
for  the  purposes  of  cruelty  and  lust. 

"The  gospel  miracles  stand  out,  therefore,  from  the 
uniform  history  of  false  religions,  just  as  the  gospel 
morality  stands  out  from  the  history  of  all  other  ethical 
systems.  They  alone  are  worthy  of  the  Creator,  — 
and  that  alone  is  worthy  of  the  Supreme  Lawgiver. 
Instead,  then,  of  admitting  that  stronger  evidence  is 
necessary,  to  attest  the  extraordinary  facts  recorded  in 
the  New  Testament,  than  is  deemed  sufficient  in  the 
common  path  of  history,  we  assert  their  intrinsic  in¬ 
dependence  of  external  proof ;  and  we  affirm  that  no 
sound  and  well-informed  mind  could  fail  to  attribute 
them  to  the  Divine  Agent,  even  though  all  historical 
evidence  were  absent.  Nothing  is  so  reasonable  as  to 
believe  that  the  miracles  and  discourses  of  Jesus  were 


WANT  OF  BELIEF  NOT  FROM  WANT  OF  PROOF.  287 


from  God, — nothing  so  absurd  as  to  suppose  them  to 
have  been  of  men.” 

Summary.  — Here,  then,  we  have  five  authentic  his¬ 
tories  - —  four,  of  the  same  events  — -  written  by  four 
different  persons,  who  were  themselves  eye-witnesses, 
or  had  the  best  means  of  knowing  what  they  relate. 
We  have  original  letters,  written  at  the  time,  both  to 
bodies  of  men  and  to  individuals,  containing  a  great 
variety  of  indirect,  and  therefore  of  the  very  strongest, 
testimony.  We  find  the  books  bearing  every  mark  of 
honesty.  We  find  the  facts  of  such  a  nature  that  the 
witnesses  could  not  have  been  deceived,  and  we  find 
them  laying  down  their  lives  to  testify  that  they  did  not 
deceive  others.  We  find  institutions  now  existing,  and 
rites  observed,  which  hold  such  a  relation  to  the  facts 
of  Christianity,  as  given  in  the  books,  that  the  books 
must  be  true.  We  find,  moreover,  no  other  account, 
nor  the  vestige  of  any,  of  the  greatest  revolution  the 
world  has  ever  known,  while  our  accounts  are  in  all 
respects  simple,  and  natural,  and  perfectly  satisfactory, 
assigning  only  adequate  causes  for  effects  which  we 
know  were  produced ;  and,  finally,  we  find  in  these 
books  the  only  account  of  miracles  that  are  worthy 
of  God.  Can  any  man  then  refuse  to  believe  facts 
thus  substantiated,  and  yet  receive  evidence  for  any 
past  event?  Can  he  do  it,  and  pretend  he  is  not  gov¬ 
erned  by  other  considerations  than  those  of  evidence? 

Heathen  writers .  —  And  here  I  might  pause  ;  but  1 
am  to  present  the  evidence,  and  there  is  still  another 
department  on  which  I  have  not  touched.  All  the  evi¬ 
dence  hitherto  adduced  has  been  drawn  from  our  own 
books,  or  from  the  nature  of  the  case.  Let  us  now  turn 
to  that  which  we  may  derive  from  heathen  writers,  and 
from  other  sources.  This  evidence  must  be  noticed, 
because  there  are  those  who  attach  to  it  a  peculiar 


288 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


value.  There  are  those  who  give  a  weight  to  the  tes¬ 
timony  of  Tacitus  the  heathen,  which  they  would  not 
have  given  to  that  of  Tacitus  the  Christian.  This  is 
unreasonable ;  because,  if  Tacitus  had  become  a  Chris¬ 
tian,  it  would,  under  the  circumstances,  have  implied 
both  sincerity  and  more  accurate  knowledge.  The  very 
fact  of  becoming  a  Christian  would  have  been,  on  his 
part,  as  it  was  on  the  part  of  every  converted  heathen, 
the  most  striking  testimony  he  could  have  given  of  his 
belief  in  the  facts  of  Christianity.  Still,  there  are 
those  who  will  not  detach  the  idea  of  partisanship  from 
the  belief  and  maintenance  of  any  great  truth,  and  who 
look  upon  Christian  testimony,  as  such,  with  suspicion. 
While,  therefore,  we  say  that  they  suffer  the  very  cir¬ 
cumstance,  that  ought  to  give  this  evidence  weight,  to 
impair  its  force,  yet,  for  their  sakes,  as  well  as  for  its 
intrinsic  value,  the  evidence  from  other  sources  must 
be  given. 

Time  and  place  of  origin.  — And  here,  again,  as  at 
other  points,  the  evidence  of  Christianity  shines  with  a 
peculiar  lustre.  It  may,  indeed,  almost  be  said  that 
our  books  are  credible  from  the  very  time  and  place  of 
their  origin.  "Few  persons,”  says  the  forcible  writer 
whom  I  last  quoted,  "  few  persons,  perhaps,  give  due 
attention  to  the  relative  position  of  the  Christian  his¬ 
tory,  which  stands  upon  the  very  point  of  intersection 
where  three  distinct  lines  of  history  meet  —  namely, 
the  Jewish,  the  Grecian,  and  the  Roman.  These  three 
bodies  of  ancient  literature,  alone,  have  descended,  by 
an  uninterrupted  channel  of  transmission,  to  modern 
times ;  and  these  three,  by  a  most  extraordinary  com¬ 
bination  of  circumstances,  were  brought  together  to 
elucidate  the  origination  of  Christianity.  If  upon  the 
broad  field  of  history  there  rests  the  common  light  of 
day,  upon  that  spot  where  a  new  religion  was  given  to 
man  there  shines  the  intensity  of  a  concentrated  bright- 


PLACE  OF  ORIGIN. 


289 


ness.”  The  Jews  had  their  own  literature  ,  they  had 
been  formerly  conquered  by  the  Greeks,  and  the  Greek 
language  was  in  common  use  ;  they  were  also  a  Roman 
province,  and  "  during  more  than  a  century,  in  the  cen¬ 
tre  of  which  stands  the  ministry  of  Christ,  the  affairs 
of  Syria  attracted  the  peculiar  attention  of  the  Roman 
government.”  "  No  other  people  of  antiquity  can  be 
named,  upon  whose  history  and  sentiments  there  falls 
this  triple  flood  of  historic  light ;  and  upon  no  period 
in  the  history  of  this  one  people  do  these  triple  rays  so 
precisely  meet  as  upon  the  moment  when  the  voice  of 
one  was  heard  in  the  wilderness  of  Jordan,  saying, 
'Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord.’”*  Well,  then, 
might  an  apostle  say,  ”  These  things  were  not  done  in  a 
corner.”  The  time  is  not  run  back,  like  that  of  Indian 
legends,  to  obscure  and  fabulous  ages  ;  nor  is  it  in  what 
are  called  the  dark  ages  of  more  modern  times.  It  was 
a  civilized  and  an  enlightened  age  —  a  classic  age  —  an 
age  of  poets,  philosophers,  and  historians.  Nor  was  it 
in  Mecca —  a  city  little  known  or  visited  by  the  civilized 
world,  and  where  the  people  and  language  were  homo¬ 
geneous —  that  Christ  arose.  It  was  in  Jerusalem,  in 
Western  Asia,  —  the  theatre  of  history  from  the  first, 
—  and  from  the  bosom  of  a  people  with  all  whose  rites 
and  usages  we  are  perfectly  acquainted.  It  was,  per¬ 
haps,  the  only  place  on  earth  in  which  a  Roman  gov¬ 
ernor  would  have  called  the  three  languages  which 
contain  the  literature  of  ancient  civilization  into  requi¬ 
sition,  to  proclaim  at  once  the  accusation  and  the  true 
character  of  Christ.  "And  Pilate  wrote  a  title,  and 
put  it  on  the  cross.  And  the  writing  was  —  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  the  King  of  the  Jews.  And  it  was 
written  in  Hebrew ,  and  Greek ,  and  Latin.” 

Here,  then,  was  a  mixed  population,  with  different 
prejudices  and  interests,  speaking  different  languages, 


*  Process  of  Historical  Proof. 


290 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


for  that  day  a  reading  population,  in  a  city  to  which 
not  only  the  Jews  dwelling  in  Palestine,  but  those  from 
distant  countries,  and  proselytes,  came  up  yearly,  as 
the  centre  and  seat  of  the  only  pure  worship  of  God 
on  earth.  And  was  this  the  place  to  select  for  the 
production  of  forged  writings  ?  or  for  an  imposture  of 
any  kind  to  gather  a  force  that  should  carry  it  over  the 
earth  ? 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  opportunity  furnished 
by  the  number  and  variety  of  the  Christian  witnesses 
for  a  most  searching  cross-examination,  and  we  have 
seen  how  triumphantly  they  come  out  from  such  an 
ordeal.  And  here  again  they  are  brought  to  a  test 
scarcely  less  trying.  The  contemporary  writers,  Jewish 
and  heathen,  in  the  three  languages  mentioned,  are 
numerous ;  and  whatever,  in  any  of  them,  throws  light 
on  the  manners,  or  habits,  or  sects,  or  forms  of  govern¬ 
ment,  or  general  condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Pales- 
tine  and  the  surrounding  countries,  will  enable  us  to 
put  to  a  most  decisive  test  those  who  describe  with  any 
minuteness  important  events  passing  upon  such  a  scene. 

The  Talmud.  —  Of  Hebrew  literature,  then,  we  have 
the  Talmud,  a  collection  of  Jewish  traditions,  the  com¬ 
pilation  of  which  was  commenced  as  early  as  the  second 
century.  This  speaks  of  Christ,  and  of  several  of  the 
disciples,  by  name.  It  speaks  also  of  his  crucifixion. 
It  admits,  also,  that  he  performed  many  and  great  mir¬ 
acles,  but  imputes  his  power  to  his  having  learned  the 
right  pronunciation  of  the  ineffable  name  of  God,  which, 
it  says,  he  stole  out  of  the  Temple,  or  to  the  magic  arts 
which  he  learned  in  Egypt.  These  writings  are  specific 
in  their  statements  respecting  the  destruction  of  Jeru¬ 
salem,  and  throw  much  light  on  the  sects  and  customs 
of  the  Jews  A 

Greek  writers — Josephus.  —  Of  Greek  writers,  we 


*  See  Horne. 


JOSEPHUS. 


291 


cite  first  Josephus,  who,  though  he  was  a  Jew  by  birth, 
and  a  Roman  by  association  and  habits,  yet  wrote  in 
Greek.  Josephus  lived  at  the  time  many  of  these 
events  are  said  to  have  happened,  and  was  present  at  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  In  him,  therefore,  we  have 
the  most  ample  means  of  ascertaining  every  thing  re¬ 
lating  to  Jewish  sects,  and  customs,  and  opinions,  and 
of  testing  the  accuracy  of  our  books  respecting  many 
dates  and  names  of  persons  and  places. 

And,  on  all  hands,  it  is  agreed  that,  so  far  as  Jose¬ 
phus  goes,  he  confirms  the  accuracy  of  our  books. 
Every  thing  said  in  relation  to  the  sects  of  the  Jews, 
and  the  Herocls,  and  Pilate,  and  the  division  of  prov¬ 
inces,  and  Felix,  and  Brasilia,  and  Bernice,  has  just 
that  agreement  with  our  accounts  which  we  should  ex¬ 
pect  in  independent  historians.  The  account  given  by 
Josephus  of  the  death  of  Herod  is  strikingly  similar  to 
that  of  Luke.  The  account  by  Luke  you  will  remem¬ 
ber.  Josephus  says  that  Herod  came  into  the  theatre 
early  in  the  morning,  dressed  in  a  robe  or  garment  made 
wholly  of  silver,  and  that  the  reflection  of  the  rays  of 
the  rising  sun  from  the  silver  gave  him  a  majestic  and 
awful  appearance,  and  that  in  a  short  time  his  flatterers 
exclaimed,  one  from  one  place  and  another  from  another, 
though  not  for  his  good,  that  he  was  a  god,  and  they 
entreated  him  to  be  propitious  to  them.  He  then  adds, 
"  Immediately  after,  he  was  seized  with  pain  in  his 
bowels,  extremely  violent,  and  was  carried  to  the  pal¬ 
ace.”  Luke  gives  the  cause  of  the  pain,  saying  he  was 
eaten  of  worms.  Do  we  find  in  the  New  Testament 
the  Jews  calling  upon  Pilate  to  crucify  Jesus,  and  say¬ 
ing,  We  have  no  power  to  put  any  man  to  death? 
Josephus  says  that  they  had  the  free  exercise  of  their 
religion,  and  the  power  of  accusing  and  prosecuting, 
but  not  of  putting  any  man  to  death.  Do  we  find  the 
Roman  captain,  when  Paul  was  arrested,  asking,  ''AH 


292 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


not  tliou  that  Egyptian,  which  before  these  days  madest 
an  uproar,  and  leddest  out  into  the  wilderness  four  thou¬ 
sand  men  that  were  murderers  ?  ”  We  find  in  J osephus 
a  full  account  of  the  transaction,  which  happened  under 
the  government  of  Felix,  and,  what  is  remarkable, 
Josephus  does  not  mention  his  name,  but  every  where 
calls  him  "  the  Egyptian,”  and  "  the  Egyptian  false 
prophet.”  Do  our  books  speak  of  Pharisees,  and  Sad- 
ducees,  and  Herodians?  Josephus  confirms  all  that  is 
said  of  these  in  the  minutest  particulars.  Does  Luke 
speak  of  soldiers  who  went  to  John  the  Baptist,  using  a 
word  (otqcxtsvoiisvoi)  which  indicates  that  they  were  then 
under  arms  and  marching  to  battle?  Josephus  tells  us 
that  Herod  was  then  at  war  with  Aretas,  his  father- 
in-law,  and  that  a  body  of  soldiers  was  at  that  very 
time  marching  through  the  region  where  John  was. 
Does  Luke  speak  of  Herod  as  reproved  by  John  for 
Herodias,  his  brother  Philip’s  wife?  Josephus  tells  us 
it  was  on  her  account  that  Herod  had  sent  back  his 
wife,  and  that  the  war  was  undertaken.  Does  Paul 
say  of  Ananias,  when  reproached  for  reviling  God’s 
high  priest,  "I  wist  not,  brethren,  that  he  was  the  high 
priest”?  We  find,  from  Josephus,  that  Ananias  had 
been  deposed,  and  his  successor  murdered,  and  that  in 
the  interim,  when  there  really  was  no  high  priest, 
Ananias  had  usurped  the  place.  Does  Luke  speak  of 
a  body  of  soldiers  stationed  at  Cresarea,  called  the 
Augustan  band?  Josephus  says,  that  though  that  gar¬ 
rison  was  chiefly  composed  of  Syrian  soldiers,  yet  that 
there  was  a  small  body  of  Koman  soldiers  stationed 
there,  called  by  this  title,  and  he  applies  to  them  the 
very  Greek  term  used  by  Luke.  So  minute  and  perfect 
are  these  coincidences,  that  no  one  can  resist  the  con¬ 
viction  that  the  writers  of  our  books  lived  and  acted  in 
the  scenes  which  they  relate. 

But  it  is  said  that  Josephus  is  silent  respecting  Christ 


JOSEPHUS. 


293 


and  Christianity.  This  is  not  true,  if  we  admit  as 
authentic  either  of  two  passages  which  are  found  in  all 
the  manuscripts,  and  which  have  strong  external  testi¬ 
mony.  The  first  passage  is  this:  "Now  there  was, 
about  this  time,  Jesus,  a  wise  man,  if  it  be  lawful  to 
call  him  a  man;  for  he  performed  many  wonderful 
works.  He  was  a  teacher  of  such  men  as  received  the 
truth  with  pleasure.  He  drew  over  to  him  many  of  the 
Jews,  and  also  of  the  Gentiles.  This  was  the  Christ. 
And  when  Pilate,  at  the  instigation  of  the  principal  men 
among  us,  had  condemned  him  to  the  cross,  those  who 
had  loved  him  from  the  first  did  not  cease  to  adhere  to 
him.  For  he  appeared  to  them  alive  again  on  the  third 
day ;  the  divine  prophets  having  foretold  these  and  ten 
thousand  other  wonderful  things  concerning  him.  And 
the  tribe  of  Christians,  so  named  from  him,  subsists  to 
this  time.”  *  Subsequently  we  find  the  following : 
"Ananias  assembled  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim,  and  brought 
before  it  James,  the  brother  of  Jesus,  who  is  called 
Christ,  with  some  others,  whom  he  delivered  over  to 
be  stoned  as  infractors  of  the  law.”  We  also  find  a 
passage  speaking  of  John  the  Baptist,  in  exact  accord¬ 
ance  with  our  Gospels.  The  authenticity  of  all  these 
passages  has  been  controverted,  and  there  is  so  much 
reason  for  doubt,  that  I  do  not  quote  them  as  authorita¬ 
tive.  If  they  are  interpolations,  then  Josephus  is  silent 
on  the  whole  subject.  But  that  silence  is  not  from 
ignorance.  We  know  from  Tacitus  that  before  Jose¬ 
phus  wrote,  the  Roman  people,  for  whom  he  wrote,  had 
seen  the  tortures  of  Christian  martyrs  suffering  for  their 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  whom  they  regarded  as  a  Jew, 
and  continuing  himself  to  be  a  Jew,  his  silence  becomes 
an  indirect  but  very  strong  testimony.  As  a  Jew,  he 
could  not  confess  the  truth  of  the  facts  asserted  by 

*  For  a  vindication  of  the  genuineness  of  this  passage,  see  the  recent  edition  of 
Home. 

T 


294 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Christians  ;  but  as  an  historian,  he  did  not  venture  to 
contradict  them,  and,  as  has  been  seen,  in  all  collateral 
matters  he  confirms  them.  But,  if  we  suppose  Jose¬ 
phus  silent,  then  it  is  certain,  from  Tacitus,  that  his 
silence  was  not  from  ignorance,  and,  inasmuch  as  he 
continued  a  Jew,  it  thus  becomes  an  indirect  testimony. 
He  could  not  say  any  thing  to  contradict  our  books  ;  he 
says  nothing  different  from  them ;  he  confirms  them  in 
all  incidental  points. 

Demosthenes.  — But,  again:  does  Luke  speak  of  the 
Athenians  as  spending  their  time  in  hearing  and  telling 
some  new  thing?  We  find  Demosthenes,  long  before, 
inquiring  of  them  whether  it  was  their  sole  ambition  to 
wander  through  the  public  places,  each  inquiring  of  the 
other,  "  What  news  ?  ”  Does  Paul  speak  of  the  Cretans 
as  liars?  We  find  that  to  "Cretize”was  a  proverbial 
expression,  among  the  ancients,  for  lying. 

Testimony  of  Pilate.  —  Before  citing  two  Latin  au¬ 
thors,  I  will  say  a  word  of  what  may  be  called  "  official” 
testimony  to  the  facts  of  Christianity.  Its  early  de¬ 
fenders,  as  Justin  Martyr,  in  his  first  Apology,  addressed 
to  "the  emperor  and  senate  of  Borne,”  and  Tertullian, 
addressing  the  Roman  governor  of  his  province,  appeal 
to  the  official  communications  of  Pilate  to  the  emperor 
Tiberius,  as  confirming  their  statements  concerning 

Christ.  The  confidence  with  which  thev  invite  an  ex- 

*/ 

animation  of  the  public  records,  and  of  the  other  sources 
of  information,  —  and  this  at  a  time  when  such  an  exam¬ 
ination  would  certainly  disclose  the  facts,  —  shows  their 
unhesitating  faith,  not  only  as  to  the  truth  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  history,  but  also  as  to  the  abundant  evidence  then 
existing  and  accessible,  by  which  it  was  supported.  If 
no  such  documents  had  existed,  it  would  have  been 
mere  foolhardiness  thus  to  refer  to  them ;  if  they  did 
exist,  how  perfect  the  evidence  !  * 


*  Horne,  to  whom,  and  Paley,  I  have  chiefly  referred  in  this  part  of  the  lecture. 


TACITUS  AND  PLINY. 


295 


Tacitus. — But  I  pass  to  Tacitus,  whose  testimony 
even  Gibbon  admits  must  be  received.  In  connection 
with  an  account  of  the  burning  of  Rome,  in  the  tenth 
year  of  Nero,  A.  D.  64,  which  was  imputed  by  Nero 
to  the  Christians,  he  tells  us  that  Christ  was  put  to 
death  by  Pontius  Pilate,  who  was  the  procurator  under 
Tiberius,  as  a  malefactor;  that  the  people  called  Chris¬ 
tians  derived  their  name  from  him  ;  that  this  superstition 
arose  in  Judea,  and  spread  to  Rome,  where  at  that  time, 
only  about  thirty  years  after  the  death  of  Christ,  the 
Christians  were  very  numerous.  The  words  of  Tacitus, 
in  speaking  of  them,  are,  " ingens  multitude a  great 
multitude.  It  is  obvious,  also,  from  the  account  of 
Tacitus,  that  the  Christians  were  subjected  to  contempt 
and  the  most  dreadful  sufferings.  "Their  executions,” 
says  he,  "were  so  contrived  as  to  expose  them  to  de¬ 
rision  and  contempt.  Some  were  covered  over  with 
the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  that  they  might  be  torn  to 
pieces  by  dogs ;  some  were  crucified ;  while  others, 
beins:  daubed  over  with  combustible  materials,  were  set 
up  as  lights  in  the  night-time,  and  were  thus  burnt  to 
death.”  This  account  is  confirmed  by  Suetonius,  and 
by  Martial  and  Juvenal.  In  his  first  satire,  Juvenal 
has  the  following  allusion,  which  I  give  as  translated 
by  Mr.  Gifford  :  — 

“  Now  dare 

To  glance  at  Tigellinus,  and  you  glare 

In  that  pitched  shirt  in  which  such  crowds  expire, 

Chained  to  the  bloody  stake,  and  wrapped  in  fire.” 

This  testimony  of  Tacitus,  confirmed  as  it  is,  is  per¬ 
fectly  conclusive  respecting  the  time  and  the  main  facts, 
of  the  origin  of  Christianity. 

Pliny.  —  It  would  here  be  in  place  to  quote  the  whole 
of  the  celebrated  letter  of  Pliny  to  Trajan,  and  the 
reply ;  but  as  these  are  so  well  known,  I  will  simply 
give  two  brief  passages,  one  respecting  the  character, 


296 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


and  the  other  the  numbers,  of  the  Christians.  Pliny 
was  proprietor  of  Pontus  and  Bithynia,  a  part  of  Asia 
remote  from  Judea,  and  the  letter  was  written  but  a 
little  more  than  seventy  years  after  the  death  of  Christ. 
Many  were  brought  before  him  for  their  faith  in  Christ. 
If  they  remained  steadfast  in  it,  refusing  to  offer  in¬ 
cense  to  the  idols,  he  condemned  them  to  death  for 
their  "  inflexible  obstinacy.”  Under  this  fear  numbers 
consented  to  deny  Christ.  Of  those  accused,  many 
said  that  they  had  once  been  Christians,  "but  had  aban¬ 
doned  that  religion,  some  of  them  three  years  before, 
some  of  them  longer,  and  some  even  twenty  years  be¬ 
fore.”  "They  affirmed,”  says  he, — that  is,  those  wTho 
said  they  had  once  been  Christians,  but  were  not  then,  — 
"that  the  whole  of  their  fault,  or  error,  lay  in  this,  that 
they  were  wont  to  meet  together  on  a  stated  day  before 
it  was  light,  and  sing  among  themselves,  alternately,  a 
hymn  to  Christ,  as  God,  and  bind  themselves,  by  an 
oath,  not  to  the  commission  of  any  wickedness,  but  not 
to  be  guilty  of  theft,  or  robbery,  or  adultery,  never  to 
falsify  their  word,  nor  to  deny  a  pledge  committed  to 
them  when  called  upon  to  return  it.  When  these  things 
were  performed,  it  Avas  their  custom  to  separate,  and 
then  to  come  together  again  to  a  meal,  Avhich  they  ate 
in  common  Avithout  any  disorder.”  This  account  seemed 
so  extraordinary  to  Pliny,  that  he  applied  torture  to 
tAvo  Avomen,  but  discovered  nothing  more. 

The  passage  in  regard  to  numbers  is  —  "  Suspending, 
therefore,  all  judicial  proceedings,  I  have  recourse  to 
you  for  advice ;  for  it  has  appeared  to  me  a  matter 
highly  deserving  consideration,  especially  on  account 
of  the  great  number  of  persons  Avho  are  in  danger  of 
suffering ;  for  many  of  all  ages  and  every  rank,  of  both 
sexes  likeAvise,  are  accused,  and  will  be  accused.  Nor 
has  the  contagion  of  this  superstition  seized  cities  only, 
but  the  lesser  towns  also,  and  the  open  country.”  Here 


STRENGTH  AND  VARIETY  OF  EVIDENCE. 


297 


we  find  the  testimony  given  in  our  books  of  the  progress 
of  the  religion  fully  confirmed.  Pontus  and  Bithynia 
were  remote  provinces,  and  it  does  not  appear  that  the 
Christian  religion  had  spread  more  rapidly  there  than 
elsewhere.  How  strong  must  have  been  that  primitive 
evidence  for  Christianity  which  could  induce  these  per¬ 
sons,  persons  of  good  sense,  in  every  walk  of  life,  to 
abandon  the  religion  of  their  ancestors,  and  thus,  in  the 
face  of  imperial  power,  to  persist  in  their  adherence  to 
one  who  had  suffered  the  death  of  a  slave  ! 

Other  writers.  — -We  might  also  refer  to  Celsus,  and 
Lucian,  and  Epictetus,  and  the  Emperor  Marcus  Anto¬ 
ninus,  and  Porphyry,  — -  who  all  throw  light  on  the  early 
history  of  Christianity,  and  all  confirm,  so  far  as  they 
go,  the  accounts  of  our  books. 

Coins ,  medals ,  inscriptions. — There  is  a  single  spe¬ 
cies  of  evidence  more,  that  I  will  just  mention  —  that 
which  is  derived  from  ancient  coins,  medals,  and  inscrip¬ 
tions.  The  most  striking  of  these  relate  to  the  credi¬ 
bility  of  the  Old  Testament ;  still,  valuable  confirmation 
to  the  New  is  not  wanting,  and  I  mention  it  because  it 
shows  how  every  possible  line  of  evidence  converges 
on  this  point. 

Luke  gives  to  Sergius  Paulus  a  title  belonging  only 
to  a  man  of  proconsular  dignity,  and  it  had  been 
doubted  whether  the  governor  of  Cyprus  had  that  dig¬ 
nity.  A  coin,  however,  has  been  found  struck  in  the 
reign  of  Claudius  Caesar,  (the  very  reign  in  which  Paul 
visited  Cyprus,)  and  under  Proclus,  who  succeeded 
Sergius  Paulus,  on  which  the  very  title  applied  by  Luke 
is  given  to  Proclus.  Luke  speaks  of  Philippi  as  a  col¬ 
ony,  and  the  word  implies  that  it  was  a  Roman  colony. 
It  was.  mentioned  as  such  by  no  other  historian,  and 
hence  the  authority  of  Luke  was  questioned.  But  a 
medal  has  been  discovered  which  shows  that  this  dignity 


298 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


was  conferred  upon  that  city  by  Julius  Caesar.  It  is 
implied,  in  the  nineteenth  of  Acts,  that  there  was  great 
zeal  at  Ephesus  for  the  worship  of  Diana ;  and  a  long 
inscription  has  been  found  there,  by  which  it  appears 
that,  at  one  time,  a  whole  month  was  set  apart  to  games 
and  festivals  in  honor  of  her.* 

There  have  also  been  found,  in  the  catacombs  at 
Home,  inscriptions  which  show,  in  a  touching  manner, 
in  opposition  to  the  insinuations  of  Gibbon  and  of  some 
later  writers,  the  cruelty  of  the  early  persecutions,  and 
the  number  of  those  who  suffered  martyrdom. f  Much 
evidence  of  this  kind  might  be  added. 

Weak  and  obstinate  skepticism.  —  Thus  have  we  every 
conceivable  species  of  historical  proof,  both  external 
and  internal.  Thus  do  the  very  stones  cry  out.  And, 
my  hearers,  if  there  may  be  such  a  thing  as  a  weak  and 
obstinate  credulity,  may  there  not  also  be  such  a  thing 
as  a  skepticism  equally  weak  and  obstinate  ? 


*  S©e  also  p.  365,  postea. 


t  Wiseman’s  Lectures. 


LECTURE  XI. 

ARGUMENT  THIRTEENTH  PROPHECY.  —  NATURE  OF  THIS  EVI¬ 
DENCE.  —  THE  GENERAL  OBJECT  OF  PROPHECY.  —  THE  FUL¬ 
FILLMENT  OF  PROPHECY. 

The  subject  of  prophecy,  upon  which  we  now  enter, 
is  a  great  subject.  It  involves  many  questions  of  diffi¬ 
culty,  and  of  deep  and  increasing  interest ;  and  I  find 
myself  embarrassed  in  the  attempt  to  say  any  thing 
respecting  it  in  a  single  lecture. 

Force  of  the  evidence. — The  term  'prophet’  meant, 
originally,  one  who  spoke  the  words  of  God,  not  neces¬ 
sarily  implying  that  he  foretold  future  events ;  but, 
when  I  speak  of  prophecy  as  an  evidence  of  revealed 
religion,  I  mean  by  it  a  foretelling  of  future  events  so 
contingent  that  they  could  not  be  foreseen  by  human 
sagacity,  and  so  numerous  and  particular  that  they  could 
not  be  produced  by  chance.  To  foretell  such  events, 
and  bring  them  to  pass,  is  among  the  most  striking  of 
all  possible  manifestations  of  the  omniscience  and  om¬ 
nipotence  of  God.  "To  declare  a  thing  shall  come  to 
be,  long  before  it  is  in  being,”  says  Justin  Martyr,  "  and 
then  to  bring  about  that  very  thing  according  to  the 
same  declaration  —  this,  or  nothing,  is  the  work  of  God.” 
Hume  was  fully  aware  of  the  force  of  this  kind  of  evi¬ 
dence,  and  justly,  though  for  an  obvious  reason,  classed 
prophecies  with  miracles,  as  furnishing  proof  of  a  rev- 

(299) 


300 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


elation  from  God.  Indeed,  a  prophecy  fulfilled  before 
our  eyes  is  a  standing  miracle.  Let  it  once  be  made 
out  that  a  religion  is  sustained  by  genuine  prophecies, 
and  I  see  not  how  it  is  possible  that  evidence  should  be 
more  complete  or  satisfactory. 

Peculiar  to  Christianity .  — In  claiming  prophecy  as 
a  ground  of  evidence,  Christianity  again  stands  entirely 
by  itself.  Miracles  and  prophecy  —  those  two  grand 
pillars  of  Christian  evidence  —  are  neither  of  them  even 
claimed  by  Mohammedanism,  and  are  neither  of  them 
the  ground  on  which  it  has  been  attempted  to  introduce 
any  other  religion.  Impostors  have  pretended,  and 
still  do,  to  work  miracles  in  support  of  systems  of  pa¬ 
ganism  and  of  superstition  already  established ;  and,  in 
the  same  way,  juggling  oracles  have  been  uttered,  which 
seem  to  have  resembled  modern  fortune-telling  far  more 
than  Scripture  prophecy.  Indeed,  the  contrast  is  not 
greater  between  the  Christian  miracles  and  the  ridicu¬ 
lous  prodigies  of  paganism,  than  it  is  between  the 
prophecies  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  heathen  oracles. 
Those  oracles  were  given  for  purposes  of  gain,  on 
special  application,  to  gratify  curiosity,  or  to  subserve 
the  purposes  of  ambition,  political  or  military ;  all  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  were  given  favored 
imposture,  and  the  responses  were  generally  so  ambig¬ 
uous,  that  they  would  apply  to  either  alternative. 
■'Thus,  when  Croesus  consulted  the  oracle  at  Delphi, 
relative  to  his  intended  war  against  the  Persians,  he 
was  told  that  he  would  destroy  a  great  empire.  This 
he  naturally  interpreted  of  his  overcoming  the  Persians, 
though  the  oracle  was  so  framed  as  to  admit  of  an  oppo¬ 
site  meaning.  Croesus  made  war  against  the  Persians, 
and  was  ruined,  and  the  oracle  continued  to  maintain 
its  credit.”  *  But  the  prophecies  of  the  Scriptures  were 
generally  uttered  on  no  solicitation,  and  never  for  a 


*  Horne. 


EVIDENCE  FROM  PROPHECY - CHARACTERISTICS.  301 


selfish  end.  They  relate  sometimes  to  individuals  and 
sometimes  to  nations,  and  present  us  with  a  compre¬ 
hensive  view  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  its  rise  and 
progress,  and  of  those  events  most  intimately' associated 
with  it  till  the  end  of  time.  They  are  one  great  and  har¬ 
monious  system,  not  one  of  which  can  be  shown  to  have 
failed,  commencing  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  uttered  by 
persons  of  the  greatest  variety  of  character,  and  ex¬ 
tending  over  the  space  of  four  thousand  years.  A 
system  of  deception  like  this  could  have  been  under¬ 
taken  from  no  conceivable  motive,  and  could  have  been 
executed  by  no  human  power. 

Gives  grandeur .  — This  is  a  species  of  evidence  which 
invests  the  Christian  religion,  and  especially  the  coming 
of  Christ,  with  a  peculiar  grandeur.  As  his  coming  is 
the  great  event  to  which  the  Christian  world  must  al- 
ways  look  back,  so  prophecy  makes  it  the  great  event 
to  which  the  ancient  church  constantly  looked  forward. 
It  makes  him  the  centre  of  the  system,  the  great  orb 
of  moral  day ;  and  prophets  and  holy  men  of  old  it 
makes  but  as  the  stars  and  constellations  that  preceded 
and  heralded  the  brightness  of  his  coming. 

Constantly  growing .  —  The  evidence  of  prophecy  is 
also  constantly  growing.  This  results,  not  from  the 
nature  of  prophecy,  in  itself  considered,  but  from 
the  number  and  nature  of  those  unfulfilled  prophecies 
of  which  there  are  so  many,  both  in  the  Old  and  in  the 
Hew  Testament.  If  prophecy  has  laid  down  a  map  of 
time  till  the  end,  then  the  evidences  from  it  must  be 
more  full  as  the  scroll  of  Divine  Providence  is  unrolled, 
and  is  found  to  correspond  with  this  map.  It  has  even 
been  said  that  this  increasing  evidence  of  prophecy  was 
intended  to  act  as  a  compensation  for  the  decreasing 
evidence  of  miracles  ;  but  I  admit  of  no  such  decrease 
in  the  evidence  for  miracles.  We  may  be  as  certain 
that  miracles  were  wrought  as  those  were  who  saw  them  ; 


302 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY . 


just  as  we  may  be  as  certain  that  Jerusalem  was  be¬ 
sieged  and  taken  as  those  were  who  saw  it ;  but,  in 
both  cases,  according  to  a  common  law  in  respect  to 
distance  in  space  and  time,  the  impression  upon  our 
minds  will  be  less  lively  than  if  it  had  been  produced 
by  the  evidence  of  the  senses,  or  from  a  near  proximity 
in  time  or  space.  We  might  be  as  certain  of  the  fact, 
if  there  had  been  an  earthquake  in  China,  as  if  one  had 
swallowed  up  New  Orleans  or  New  York ;  but  how 
much  less  lively  would  be  our  impressions  in  one  case 
than  in  the  other !  It  was  a  doctrine  of  Hume,  that 
belief  consists  in  liveliness  of  ideas,  and  this  doctrine 
of  a  decreasing  evidence  for  miracles  seems  to  have 
resulted  from  confounding  these  two. 

Specially  adapted  to  some  ?ninds.  —  The  evidence  from 
prophecy,  being  thus  conclusive,  peculiar,  grand,  and 
growing,  can  not  be  omitted ;  though  if  we  look  at 
Christianity  as  merely  requiring  a  logical  proof,  it  is 
not  needed.  But  the  minds  of  men  are  differently  con¬ 
stituted.  Some  are  more  struck  with  one  species  of 
evidence,  and  some  with  another ;  and  it  seems  to  have 
been  the  intention  of  God  that  his  revelation  should 
not  be  without  any  kind  of  proof  that  could  be  reason¬ 
ably  demanded,  nor  without  proof  adapted  to  every 
mind.  To  my  mind,  the  argument  from  the  internal 
evidence  is  conclusive  ;  so  is  that  from  testimony  ;  and 
here  is  another,  perhaps  not  less .  so  even  now,  and 
which  is  destined  to  become  overwhelming.  These  are 
independent  of  each  other.  They  are  like  separate 
nets,  which  God  has  commanded  those  who  would  be 
"fishers  of  men”  to  stretch  across  the  stream  —  that 
stream  which  leads  to  the  Dead  Sea  of  infidelity  —  so 
that  if  any  evade  the  first,  they  may  be  taken  by  the 
second ;  or,  if  they  can  possibly  pass  the  second,  that 
they  may  not  escape  the  third. 

Evidence  not  the  sole  or  great  object .  —  This  evidence, 


EVIDENCE  FROM  PROPHECY - INCIDENTAL.  303 


so  striking  and  peculiar,  it  has  generally  been  supposed 
it  was  the  object  of  prophecy  to  give.  That  this  was 
one  object  I  can  not  doubt.  It  may  even  have  been  the 
sole  object  of  some  particular  prophecies,  as  Avhen 
Christ  said  to  his  disciples,  respecting  the  treachery  of 
Judas,  "Now  I  have  told  you  before  it  come  to  pass, 
that  when  it  is  come  to  pass,  ye  might  believe.”  But, 
important  as  this  object  is,  it  seems  to  me  to  be  only 
incidental.  Prophecy  seems,  like  the  sinlessness  of 
Christ,  to  enter  necessarily  into  the  system  —  to  be  a 
part,  not  only  of  the  evidence  of  the  system,  but  of 
the  system  itself.  I  speak  not  now  of  this  or  that  par¬ 
ticular  prophecy ;  but  I  say  that  the  prophetic  element 
causes  the  whole  system  to  have  a  different  relation  to 
the  human  mind,  and  makes  it  quite  another  thing  as  a 
means  of  moral  culture  and  discipline.  It  is  one  thing 
for  the  soldier  to  march  without  any  knowledge  of  the 
places  through  which  he  is  to  pass,  or  of  that  to  which 
he  is  going,  or  of  the  object  of  the  campaign ;  and  it 
is  quite  another  for  him  to  have,  not  a  map,  perhaps, 
but  a  sketch  of  the  intended  route,  with  the  principal 
cities  through  which  he  is  to  pass  dotted  down,  and  to 
know  what  is  intended  to  be  the  termination  and  the 
final  object  of  the  campaign.  It  is  evident  that  in  the 
one  case  a  vastly  wider  range  of  sympathies  will  be 
called  into  action  than  in  the  other.  In  the  latter  case, 
the  soldiers  can  cooperate  far  more  intelligently  with 
their  commander-in-chief ;  they  will  feel  very  differ¬ 
ently  as  they  arrive  at  designated  points,  and  far  higher 
will  be  their  enthusiasm  as  they  approach  the  end  of 
their  march,  and  the  hour  of  the  final  conflict  draws  on. 
And  this  is  the  relation  in  which  God  has  placed  us,  by 
the  prophetic  element  in  revelation,  to  his  great  plans 
and  purposes.  He  has  provided  that  there  shall  be  put 
into  the  hands  of  every  soldier  a  sketch  of  the  route 
which  the  church  militant  is  to  pursue  in  following  the 


304 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Captain  of  her  salvation  ;  and  this  sketch  is  continued  all 
the  way,  till  we  see  the  bannered  host  passing  through 
those  triumphal  arches  where  the  everlasting  doors  have 
been  lifted  up  for  their  entrance  into  the  Jerusalem 
above.  This  is  not  merely  to  gratify  curiosity ;  it  is 
not  merely  to  give  an  evidence  which  becomes  com¬ 
pleted  only  when  it  is  no  longer  needed ;  but  it  is  to 
furnish  objects  to  faith  and  affection,  and  motives  to 
effort,  and  to  put  the  mind  of  man  in  that  relation  to 
the  great  plan  of  God  which  properly  belongs  to  those 
whom  he  calls  his  children  and  his  friends. 

Obscurity.  —  Objection  has  been  made  to  the  obscu¬ 
rity  of  the  prophecies.  This  objection  can  not  lie 
against  them  as  indicating  the  general  course  of  events, 
and  thus  accomplishing  the  great  end  for  which  I  sup¬ 
pose  they  were  given.  Nor  can  it  lie  against  some  of 
the  particular  prophecies,  for  nothing  can  be  more 
direct  and  explicit.  Others,  however,  are  obscure. 
The  revelations  were  made  by  symbols  which  are  sub¬ 
ject  to  their  own  laws  of  interpretation,  and  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  which  the  prophets  themselves  did  not  always 
understand.  But  it  is  through  this  very  obscurity,  in 
the  exact  degree  in  which  it  exists,  that  many  of  these 
prophecies  furnish  the  highest  possible  evidence  of  their 
genuineness.  If  the  object  had  been  to  furnish  the 
very  best  evidence  that  certain  prophecies  were  in¬ 
spired,  it  could  have  been  done  only  by  investing  them 
with  such  a  degree  of  obscurity  that  the  events  could 
not  have  been  certainly  recognized  before  their  fulfill¬ 
ment,  and  yet  by  making  them  so  clear  that  they  could 
not  be  mistaken  afterward.  And  this  is  precisely  the 
principle  on  which  many  of  the  prophecies  are  con¬ 
structed.  Looked  at  in  this  point  of  view,  they  show 
a  divine  skill.  If  a  prophecy  had  the  plainness  of  a 
narration,  it  might  be  plausibly  said  that  it  was  the 
cause  of  its  own  fulfillment.  Individuals  wishing  it  to 

O 


OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS. 


305 


be  fulfilled  might  accommodate  themselves  to  the  proph¬ 
ecy,  or,  as  has  been  done  in  one  famous  instance,*  they 
might  endeavor  to  prevent  the  fulfillment.  How  eagerly 
this  objection  would  have  been  seized  on  may  be  seen 
from  the  fact  that  Bolingbroke  says,  even  now,  that 
Christ  did  bring  on  his  own  death  willfully,  that  his 
disciples  might  boast  that  the  prophecies  were  fulfilled 
in  him.  But  when  prophecy,  while  it  spans,  as  with  a 
luminous  arch,  the  whole  canopy  of  time,  and  reveals 
some  events  with  perfect  distinctness,  yet  so  far  shrouds 
others  as  to  show  only  their  general  form,  while  it  so 
far  reveals  them  that  they  can  not  be  mistaken  when 
they  stand  in  the  light  of  actual  fulfillment,  then  we  see 
the  certain  signature  of  a  divine  hand ;  we  have  the 
very  best  evidence  that  the  prophecy  is  from  God. 

Connection  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments.  — 
Perhaps  I  ought  to  say  a  word  on  another  point.  Much 
has  been  said  of  the  connection  between  the  Old  and 
the  New  Testaments.  To  some  it  has  seemed  that  the 
Old  Testament  was  only  a  dead  weight,  and  that  Chris¬ 
tianity  would  move  on  triumphantly  if  it  were  once 
fairly  cut  loose  from  this.  Its  morality  has  seemed  to 
them  barbarous,  and  its  narrations  improbable.  They 
would  not,  perhaps,  say  positively  that  those  events 
never  did  take  place,  but  they  greatly  doubt  whether 
they  did,  and  they  talk  of  "those  old  myths.”  But  I 
have  no  fears  that  the  Old  Testament  will  drag  down 
the  New.  I  have  no  wish  to  cut  Christianity  loose  from 
any  connection  with  it,  but  would  rather  draw  that 
connection  closer.  To  me  the  morality  of  the  Old 
Testament  is  the  morality  of  the  ten  commandments. 
I  find  nothing  sanctioned  there  which  these  would  not 
allow,  and  I  wish  for  nothing  better.  To  me  its  narra¬ 
tives  are  facts  ;  and  I  remember  that  the  Saviour  said  of 
these  books  that  they  were  they  which  testified  of  Him. 


*  That  of  Julian 


306 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Four  points  to  be  established. — With  these  views, 
while  I  allow  that  there  are  difficulties  connected  with 
the  proper  interpretation  of  some  of  the  prophecies, 
and  in  a  few  cases  with  the  manner  in  which  they  are 
referred  to  by  the  New  Testament  writers,  I  yet  feel 
that  there  is  overwhelming  evidence,  1.  Of  the  fulfill¬ 
ment  of  those  prophecies  which  related  to  events  that 
occurred  before  the  time  of  Christ.  2.  That  Christ 
and  his  apostles  did  claim  that  many  of  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  prophecies  were  fulfilled  in  him.  3.  That  those 
prophecies  were  thus  fulfilled.  And,  4.  That  not  only 
the  prophets  of  old,  but  Christ  and  his  apostles, 
uttered  prophecies  which  have  been  fulfilled  since  his 
time,  and  which  are  in  the  process  of  fulfillment  now. 

Prophecies  relating  to  events  before  Christ. — Let  us, 
then,  look  at  the  fulfillment  of  those  prophecies  which 
related  to  events  that  occurred  before  the  time  of  Christ. 
Of  these  the  number  is  very  great,  relating  to  the  Jews, 
and  to  those  nations  with  whom  they  were  connected. 
Of  those  respecting  the  Jews,  I  shall  adduce  only  such 
as  relate  to  their  Babylonish  captivity  and  return  ;  and 
of  these  I  can  give  but  single  specimens  out  of  large 
classes  of  passages.  Jeremiah  says,  (xxxii.  28,) 
''Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord,  Behold,  I  will  give 
this  city  into  the  hand  of  the  Chaldeans,  and  into  the 
hand  of  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon,  and  he  shall 
take  it.”  This  is  sufficiently  explicit  with  respect  to 
the  taking  of  the  city.  He  says  again,  (xxix.  10,) 
"For  thus  saith  the  Lord,  that  after  seventy  years  be 
accomplished  at  Babylon  I  will  visit  you,  and  perform 
my  good  word  toward  you,  in  causing  you  to  return  to 
this  place.”  Hear,  now,  Isaiah,  a  hundred  and  sixty 
years  before  these  events,  calling  by  name  and  pointing 
out  the  work  of  one  who  was  not  yet.  Isa.  xliv.  28. 
"That  saith  of  Cyrus,  He  is  my  shepherd,  and  shall 
perform  all  my  pleasure:  even  saying  to  Jerusalem, 


PARTICULAR  PROPHECIES. 


307 


Thou  shall  be  built ;  and  to  the  Temple,  Thy  founda¬ 
tion  shall  be  laid.”  Now  let  us  hear  the  decree  of  this 
same  Cyrus,  made  at  the  expiration  of  the  seventy 
years.  Ezra  i.  2,  3.  "Thus  saith  Cyrus,  king  of 
Persia,  The  Lord  God  of  heaven  hath  given  me  all  the 
kingdoms  of  the  earth  ;  and  he  hath  charged  me  to  build 
him  a  house  in  Jerusalem  which  is  in  Judah.  Who  is 
there  among  you  of  all  his  people?  his  God  be  with 
him,  and  let  him  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  which  is  in  Judah* 
and  build  the  house  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  (he  is 
the  God,)  which  is  in  Jerusalem.”  History  itself 
could  not  be  more  plain  or  specific,  and  such  events 
were  plainly  beyond  the  reach  of  human  sagacity. 

The  nations  chiefly  connected  with  the  Jews  were  the 
Ninevites,  the  Moabites,  the  Ammonites,  the  Philistines, 
the  Edomites,  the  Egyptians,  the  Tyrians,  and  the 
Babylonians ;  and  concerning  each  of  these  there  are 
numerous  and  specific  prophecies. 

Of  Nineveh,  that  exceeding  great  city  of  three  days 
journey,  the  prophet  says,  (Nahum  i.  9,)  "What  do  ye 
imagine  against  the  Lord?  He  will  make  an  utter  end  : 
affliction  shall  not  rise  up  the  second  time.”  And  says 
another  prophet,  (Zeph.  ii.  13,  15,)  "He  will  make 
Nineveh  a  desolation,  and  dry  like  a  wilderness.  This 
is  the  rejoicing  city  that  dwelt  carelessly,  that  said  in 
her  heart,  I  am,  and  there  is  none  beside  me  :  how  is 
she  become  a  desolation  !  ”  Of  the  Moabites,  and  the 
Ammonites,  the  prophet  said,  (Zeph.  ii.  8,  9,)  "I  have 
heard  the  reproach  of  Moab,  and  the  revilings  of  the 
children  of  Ammon,  whereby  they  have  reproached  my 
people,  and  magnified  themselves  against  their  border. 
Therefore,  as  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God 
of  Israel,  surely  Moab  shall  be  as  Sodom,  and  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  Ammon  as  Gomorrah,  even  the  breeding  of 
nettles,  and  salt  pits,  and  a  perpetual  desolation.” 
"Moab,”  says  another  prophet,  (Jer.  xlviii.  42,)  "shall 


308 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


be  destroyed  from  being  a  people.”  All  this  respecting 
Nineveh,  and  Moab,  and  Ammon,  has  been  literally 
accomplished.  Of  the  Philistines  the  prophet  says, 
(Zeph.  ii.  4,)  "  Gaza  shall  be  forsaken,  and  Ashkelon 
a  desolation  :  they  shall  drive  out  Ashdod  at  the  noon¬ 
day,  and  Ekron  shall  be  rooted  up.”  Of  Edom  the 
prophecies  are  the  more  remarkable,  because  commen¬ 
tators  on  the  Bible  were  long  troubled  to  know  how  to 
dispose  of  them,  and  because  their  literal  and  exact 
fulfillment  has  been  known  only  a  few  years.  This 
country  was  once  a  great  thoroughfare,  and  a  mart  for 
commerce,  and  remained  so  long  after  the  prophecies 
were  uttered.  Here  was  Petra,  that  city  the  ruins  of 
which  have  recently  become  so  celebrated.  When  this 
was  discovered  in  the  midst  of  such  utter  desolation, 
then,  and  not  till  then,  was  the  meaning  of  such  pas¬ 
sages  as  the  following  made  known.  Jer.  xlix.  16-18. 
”  Thy  terribleness  hath  deceived  thee,  and  the  pride  of 
thine  heart,  O  thou  that  dwellest  in  the  clefts  of  the 
rock,  that  holdest  the  height  of  the  hill.  Also  Edom 
shall  be  a  desolation  :  every  one  that  goeth  by  it  shall 
be  astonished,  and  shall  hiss  at  all  the  plagues  thereof. 
As  in  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  the 
neighbor  cities  thereof,  saith  the  Lord,  no  man  shall 
abide  there,  neither  shall  a  son  of  man  dwell  in  it.” 
The  discovery  of  this  country  and  its  ruins,  which  no 
traveler  seems  to  have  visited  for  a  thousand  years, 
was  like  the  resurrection  of  one  from  the  dead  to  bear 
witness  to  the  literal  truth  of  the  prophecies  of  God. 
Concerning  Egypt,  once  so  mighty,  it  was  said,  (Ezek. 
xxix.  15  ;  xxx.  13,)  ”It  shall  be  the  basest  of  the  king¬ 
doms  ;  neither  shall  it  exalt  itself  any  more  above  the 
nations  :  for  I  will  diminish  them,  that  they  shall  no 
more  rule  over  the  nations.  And  there  shall  be  no 
more  a  prince  of  the  land  of  Egypt.”  Upon  this  pas¬ 
sage  the  wlu.de  history  of  Egypt  is  but  one  commentary. 


PARTICULAR  PROPHECIES. 


309 


The  prophecies  concerning  Tyre  and  Babylon  are  well 
known.  Of  Tyre  it  was  said,  (Ezek.  xxvi.  4,  5,) 
"  And  they  shall  destroy  the  walls  of  Tyrus,  and  break 
down  her  towers  ;  I  will  also  scrape  her  dust  from  her, 
and  make  her  like  the  top  of  a  rock.  It  shall  be  a 
place  for  the  spreading  of  nets  in  the  midst  of  the  sea.” 
Alexander  scraped  the  ruins  from  the  site  of  the  old 
city  for  the  purpose  of  filling  up  a  passage  to  the  new, 
and  the  infidel  Yolney  tells  us  that  it  is  now  a  place 
where  the  fishermen  spread  their  nets.  Of  "Babylon, 
the  glory  of  kingdoms,”  it  was  said,  (Isa.  xiii.  20,  21, )> 
"  It  shall  never  be  inhabited,  neither  shall  it  be  dwelt 
in  from  generation  to  generation :  neither  shall  the 
Arabian  pitch  tent  there ;  neither  shall  the  shepherds 
make  their  fold  there.  But  wild  beasts  of  the  desert 
shall  lie  there  ;  and  their  houses  shall  be  full  of  doleful 
creatures ;  and  owls  shall  dwell  there,  and  satyrs  shall 
dance  there.”  No  better  description  of  the  fate  and 
condition  of  Babylon  could  be  written  now.  These 
prophecies  were  literal,  and  they  have  been  literally 
fulfilled.  At  the  time  they  were  uttered  there  was 
nothing  to  indicate  the  probability  of  such  events.  The 
world  had  then  had  no  experience  of  the  transfer  of  the 
seats  of  power  and  civilization.  How  strange  that  all 
these  cities  and  nations  should  have  perished  !  Why 
should  not  the  Moabites,  or  the  Ammonites,  have  re¬ 
mained  a  separate  people,  as  well  as  the  Jews  or  the 
Ishmaelites?  The  prophets  of  God  no  longer  wander 
over  those  regions,  but  he  has  not  left  himself  without 
a  witness.  No  voice  could  be  more  eloquent  than  that 
of  those  ruined  cities  and  desolate  kingdoms,  testifying 
how  fearful  a  thing  it  is  to  fall  under  the  displeasure 
of  God,  and  how  certainly  he  will  execute  all  his 
threatenings. 

Claim  of  Christ  and  his  apostles. — I  now  proceed 
u 


310 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


to  show  that  Christ  and  his  apostles  did  claim  that 
many  of  the  Old  Testament  prophecies  were  fulfilled  in 
him.  This  claim,  it  seems  to  me,  if  it  could  have  been 
made  by  language,  was  made.  I  shall  cite  a  few  pas¬ 
sages,  and  leave  you  to  judge.  Christ  says,  (John  v. 
39,)  "  Search  the  Scriptures,  for  they  are  they  which 
testify  of  me.”  John  v.  46.  "For  had  ye  believed 
Moses,  ye  would  have  believed  me  ;  for  he  wrote  of 
me.”  "The  Son  of  man,”  said  he,  (Matt.  xxvi.  24,) 
"goeth,  as  it  is  written  of  him.”  Mark  ix.  12.  "It  is 
written  of  the  Son  of  man,  that  he  must  suffer  many 
things.”  Luke  xviii.  31.  "All  things  written  by  the 
prophets  concerning  the  Son  of  man  shall  be  accom¬ 
plished.”  Luke  xxiv.  25-27.  "Then  he  said  unto 
them,  O  fools,  and  slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the 
prophets  have  spoken  !  Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suf¬ 
fered  these  things,  and  to  enter  into  his  glory?  And 
beginning  at  Moses,  and  all  the  prophets,  he  expounded 
unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things  concerning 
himself.”  And  it  was  when  he  thus  opened  to  them 
the  Scriptures,  that  their  hearts  burned  within  them. 
Again,  he  said,  (verses  44-46,)  "All  things  must  be 
fulfilled  which  were  wwitten  in  the  law  of  Moses,  and 
the  prophets,  and  in  the  Psalms,  concerning  me.  Then 
opened  he  their  understanding,  that  they  might  under¬ 
stand  the  Scriptures,  and  said  unto  them,  Thus  it  is 
written,  and  thus  it  behooved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to 
rise  from  the  dead.”  Could  Christ  have  claimed  that 
he  was  the  subject  of  prophecy,  not  only  in  one  portion 
of  Scripture,  but  in  all  the  Scriptures,  more  plainly 
than  he  did  claim  it?  It  is  obvious,  from  the  narrative, 
that  the  effect  was  scarcely  greater  of  seeing  him  alive, 
than  was  that  produced  by  his  opening  to  them  the 
Scriptures. 

But  what  say  the  apostles  ?  "  Paul  went  in  unto  the 

Jews,’"  (Acts  xvii.  2,  3,)  "and  three  Sabbath  days 


PROPHECY  CLAIMED. 


311 


reasoned  with  them  out  of  the  Scriptures,  opening  and 
alleging  that  Christ  must  needs  have  suffered,  and 
risen  again  from  the  dead.”  And  the  noble  Bereans 
"  searched  the  Scriptures  daily,  whether  those  things 
were  so.”  Again,  (Acts  xxviii.  23,)  Paul  "expounded 
and  testified  the  kingdom  of  God,  persuading  them 
concerning  Jesus,  both  out  of  the  law  of  Moses  and 
out  of  the  prophets.”  Paul  declared  before  Agrippa 
(Acts  xxvi.  22)  that  he  said  "  none  other  things  than 
those  which  the  prophets  and  Moses  did  say  should 
come.”  Apollos  (Acts  xviii.  28)  "  mightily  convinced 
the  Jews,  publicly  showing,  by  the  Scriptures,  that 
Jesus  was  Christ.”  Peter,* even  in  his  first  discourse 
to  the  Gentiles,  said,  (Acts  x.  43,)  "To  him  give  all 
the  prophets-  witness.”  And  again,  (Acts  iii.  18,) 
"  Those  things  which  God  before  had  showed  by  the 
mouth  of  all  his  prophets,  that  Christ  should  suffer,  he 
hath  so  fulfilled.”  Again,  (verse  24,)  he  says,  "Yea, 
and  all  the  prophets  from  Samuel,  and  those  that  follow 
after,  as  many  as  have  spoken,  have  likewise  foretold 
of  these  days.”  And  Peter  says  expressly  (1  Pet.  i. 
10,  11)  that  "the  prophets  have  inquired  and  searched 
diligently,  searching  what  or  what  manner  of  time  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify,  when 
it  testified  beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the 
glory  that  should  follow.” 

To  me  it  seems  that  these  passages  show,  if  any 
thing  can  show  it,  not  only  that  Christ  and  his  apostles 
claimed  that  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  were  ful¬ 
filled  in  him,  but  that  the  great  question,  when  they 
attempted  to  convert  the  Jews,  was,  whether  they  had 
been  thus  fulfilled. 

Prophecies  fulfilled  in  Christ.  —  Our  next  inquiry  is, 
whether  there  are  prophecies  in  the  Old  Testament 
which  were  thus  fulfilled  in  Christ. 


312 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


And  here  I  hardly  know  what  course  to  take.  I 
might  propound  a  theory,  or  make  general  assertions, 
and  perhaps,  as  has  too  often  been  done,  mystify  the 
subject ;  but  this  would  not  be  proof.  Proof  must  be 
drawn  from  a  comparison  of  scripture  with  scripture. 
Hence  only  can  conviction  arise.  Will  the  audience 
then  permit  me  to  present  briefly,  letting  the  Scriptures 
speak  for  themselves,  some  corresponding  passages  of 
the  Old  and  of  the  New  Testament  on  this  subject? 
It  will  be  my  intention  to  produce  no  passage  which  is 
not  applicable ;  but,  if  I  should,  it  would  not  invalidate 
the  general  argument.  The  question  here  is  not  one 
of  small  criticism.  It  is  as  when  we  stand  in  the  light 
of  open  day.  We  should  not  deny,  perhaps,  that  there 
might  be  found  dark  corners  into  which  a  man  could 
run  and  see  nothing ;  nor  that  so  small  an  object  as  his 
hand  even  might  conceal  from  him  the  whole  horizon. 
So  here,  the  question  is  not  whether  a  man  may  not 
And  some  dark  points,  or  some  small  objection  which 
he  may  hold  in  such  a  position  as  to  eclipse  the  glory 
of  the  whole  prophetic  heavens  ;  but  whether  there  is 
not,  for  the  candid  mind,  one  broad  flood  of  light  pour¬ 
ing  out  from  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  the 
rays  of  which  converge,  as  in  a  halo  of  glory,  around 
the  head  of  the  Redeemer.  We  contend  that  there  is, 
and  that  this  lisjit  bes;an  to  shine  even  before  our  first 
parents  were  expelled  from  Eden. 

To  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent.  —  The  first  intima¬ 
tion  we  have  of  a  Messiah  was  in  the  promise  that  the 
seed  of  the  woman  should  bruise  the  head  of  the  ser¬ 
pent.  Gen.  iii.  15.  In  the  New  Testament  it  is  said, 
"God  sent  forth  his  Son,  made  of  a  woman.”  Gal.  iv. 
4.  And  again  :  He  became  a  partaker  of  flesh  and 
blood,  that  "  through  death  he  might  destroy  him  that 
had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil.”  Heb. 
ii.  14. 


SPECIFICATIONS. 


313 


To  be  of  the  seed  of  Abraham.  —  The  next  general 
intimation  was  given  to  Abraham,  and  his  family  was 
predicted.  "  And  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth  be  blessed.”  Gen.  xxii.  18.  "Now,  to  Abra¬ 
ham,”  says  Paul,  "  and  his  seed,  were  the  promises 
made.  He  saith  not,  And  to  seeds,  as  of  many;  but 
as  of  one,  And  to  thy  seed ,  which  is  Christ.”  Gal.  iii. 
16.  "For  verily  he  took  not  on  him  the  nature  of 
angels,  but  he  took  on  him  the  seed  of  Abraham.” 
Heb.  ii.  16. 

Of  the  tribe  of  Judah. — He  was  to  be  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah.  "The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah, 
nor  a  lawgiver  from  between  his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come  : 
and  unto  him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  be.” 
Gen.  xlix.  10.  "For  it  is  evident,”  says  Paul,  "that 
our  Lord  sprang  out  of  Judah ;  of  which  tribe  Moses 
spake  nothing  concerning  priesthood.”  Heb.  vii,  14. 

Of  the  house  of  David.  —  He  was  to  be  of  the  house 
of  David.  "And  in  that  day  there  shall  be  a  root  of 
Jesse,  which  shall  stand  for  an  ensign  of  the  people, 
to  it  shall  the  Gentiles  seek  :  and  his  rest  shall  be  glo¬ 
rious.”  Isa.  xi.  10.  "Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the 
Lord,  that  I  will  raise  unto  David  a  righteous  Branch, 
and  a  King  shall  reign  and  prosper,  and  shall  execute 
judgment  and  justice  ;  and  this  is  his  name  whereby  he 
shall  be  called,  The  Lord  our  Righteousness.”  Jer. 
xxiii.  5,  6.  Paul  says,  "Concerning  his  son  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord,  which  was  made  of  the  seed  of  David 
according  to  the  flesh.”  Bom.  i.  3. 

Place  of  birth  designated.  —  The  place  of  his  birth 
was  designated.  "  But  thou,  Bethlehem  Ephratah, 
though  thou  be  little  among  the  thousands  of  Judah, 
yet  out  of  thee  shall  he  come  forth  unto  me  that  is  to 
be  Ruler  in  Israel ;  whose  goings  forth  have  been  from 
of  old,  from  everlasting.”  Micah  v.  2.  "Now,”  says 


314 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Matthew,  "  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Ju¬ 
dea.”  Matt.  ii.  1. 

The  time  of  birth.  —  The  time  was  designated.  It 
was  not  only  to  be  before  the  sceptre  departed  from 
Judah,  but  while  the  second  Temple  was  standing. 
"And  I  will  shake  all  nations,”  says  God  by  Haggai, 
"  and  the  Desire  of  all  nations  shall  come  :  and  the 
glory  of  this  latter  house  shall  be  greater  than  of  the 
former,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.”  Hag.  ii.  7,  9.  Daniel 
also  said,  "  Seventy  weeks  are  determined  upon  thy 
people  and  upon  the  holy  city,  to  finish  the  transgression, 
and  to  make  an  end  of  sins,  and  to  make  reconciliation 
for  iniquity,  and  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness, 
and  to  seal  up  the  vision  and  prophecy,  and  to  anoint 
the  Most  Holy.”  Dan.  ix.  24.  Accordingly  we  find, 
not  only  from  Jewish  writers,  but  from  the  most  explicit 
passages  in  Tacitus  and  Suetonius,  that  there  was  a 
general  expectation  that  an  extraordinary  person  would 
arise  in  Judea  about  that  time.  So  strong  was  this 
expectation  among  the  Jews  as  to  encourage  numerous 
false  Christs  to  appear,  and  to  enable  them  to  gain  fol¬ 
lowers  ;  and  so  certain  were  they  that  the  Temple  could 
not  be  destroyed  before  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  that 
they  refused  all  terms  from  Titus,  and  fought  with  des¬ 
peration  till  the  last. 

Elias  to  come  first. — He  was  to  be  preceded  by  a 
remarkable  person  resembling  Elijah.  "Behold,  I  will 
send  my  messenger,  and  he  shall  prepare  the  way  before 
me.”  Mai.  iii.  1.  "Behold,  I  will  send  you  Elijah  the 
prophet  before  the  coming  of  the  great  and  dreadful 
day  of  the  Lord.”  Mai.  iv.  5.  "The  voice  of  him  that 
crieth  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the 
Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert  a  highway  for  our 
God.”  Isa.  xl.  3.  "In  those  days  came  John  the  Bap¬ 
tist,  preaching  in  the  wilderness  of  Judea,  and  saying, 


SPECIFICATIONS. 


315 


Repent  ye ;  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.” 
Matt.  iii.  1,  2. 

Was  to  icorJc  miracles.  —  He  was  to  work  miracles. 
"  Then  the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be  opened,  and  the 
ears  of  the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped.  Then  shall  the 
lame  man  leap  as  a  hart,  and  the  tongue  of  the  dumb 
sing.”  Isa.  xxxv.  5,6.  These  are  precisely  the  mira¬ 
cles  recorded  as  wrought  by  Christ  in  instances  too 
numerous  to  mention. 

His  public  entry  into  Jerusalem.  —  He  was  to  make 
a  public  entry  into  Jerusalem,  riding  upon  a  colt  the  foal 
of  an  ass.  "  Rejoice  greatly,  O  daughter  of  Zion  ;  shout, 
O  daughter  of  Jerusalem  :  behold,  thy  King  cometh 
unto  thee  :  he  is  just,  and  having  salvation  ;  lowly,  and 
riding  upon  an  ass,  and  upon  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass.” 
Zech.  ix.  9.  An  account  of  the  exact  fulfillment  of  this 
prophecy  will  be  found  in  the  twenty-first  chapter  of 
Matthew. 

To  be  rejected  by  the  Jews.  — He  was  to  be  rejected 
of  his  own  countrymen.  "And  he  shall  be  for  a  sanc¬ 
tuary  ;  but  for  a  stone  of  stumbling  and  for  a  rock  of 
offense  to  both  the  houses  of  Israel.”  Isa.  viii.  14.  "He 
hath  no  form  nor  comeliness ;  and  when  we  shall  see 
him,  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  him.  He 
is  despised  and  rejected  of  men  ;  a  man  of  sorrows,  and 
acquainted  with  grief :  and  we  hid  as  it  were  our  faces 
from  him ;  he  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed  him  not.” 
Isa.  liii.  2,  3.  "He  came  unto  his  own,”  says  John, 
"and  his  own  received  him  not.”  John  i.  11.  And 
again :  "  Though  he  had  done  so  many  miracles  before 
them,  yet  they  believed  not  on  him  :  that  the  saying  of 
Esaias  the  prophet  might  be  fulfilled,  which  he  spake, 
Lord,  who  hath  believed  our  report?”  —  quoting  the 
first  verse  of  the  fifty-third  of  Isaiah,  and  thus  claiming 
it  as  spoken  of  the  Messiah.  And  after  quoting  another 
prophecy,  the  apostle  says,  "These  things  said  Esaias, 


3X6 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


when  he  saw  his  glory,  and  spake  of  him.”  John  xii. 
37,  38,  41. 

To  be  scourged  and  mocked.  —  He  was  to  be  scourged, 
mocked,  and  spit  upon.  "  I  gave  my  back  to  the  smi- 
ters,  and  my  cheeks  to  them  that  plucked  oft'  the  hair : 
I  hid  not  my  face  from  shame  and  spitting.”  Isa.  1.  6. 
"And  when  he  had  scourged  Jesus,  he  delivered  him  to 
be  crucified.”  Matt,  xxvii.  26.  "Then  did  they  spit  in 
his  face,  and  buffeted  him;  and  others  smote  him  with 
the  palms  of  their  hands.”  Matt.  xxvi.  67. 

His  hands  and  feet  to  be  pierced.  — His  hands  and  his 
feet  were  to  be  pierced.  "  The  assembly  of  the  wicked 
have  inclosed  me  ;  they  pierced  my  hands  and  my  feet.” 
Ps.  xxii.  16.  This  is  remarkable,  because  the  punish¬ 
ment  of  crucifixion  was  not  known  among  the  Jews. 

To  be  numbered  with  transgressors.  —  He  was  to  be 
numbered  with  the  transgressors.  "And  he  was  num¬ 
bered  with  the  transgressors  ;  and  he  bare  the  sin  of  many, 
and  made  intercession  for  the  transgressors.”  Isa.  liii.  12. 

To  be  reviled  on  the  cross. — He  was  to  be  mocked 
and  reviled  on  the  cross.  "All  they  that  see  me  laugh 
me  to  scorn ;  they  shoot  out  the  lip,  they  shake  the 
head,  saying,  He  trusted  on  the  Lord  that  he  would 
deliver  him :  let  him  deliver  him,  seeing  he  delighted 
in  him.”  Ps.  xxii.  7,  8.  "Likewise  also  the  chief 
priests,  mocking  him,  with  the  scribes  and  elders,  said, 
He  saved  others  ;  himself  he  can  not  save.  — He  trusted 
in  God;  let  him  deliver  him  now ,  if  he  will  have  him :  for 
he  said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God.”  Matt,  xxvii.  41—43. 

To  have  gall  and  vinegar  to  drink.  —  He  was  to  have 
gall  and  vinegar  to  drink.  "  They  gave  me  also  gall  for 
my  meat ;  and  in  my  thirst,  they  gave  me  vinegar  to 
drink.”  Ps.  Ixix.  21.  "And  when  they  were  come 
unto  a  place  called  Golgotha,  that  is  to  say,  A  place  of 
a  skull,  they  gave  him  vinegar  to  drink ,  mingled  with 
gall.”  Matt,  xxvii.  33,  34. 


SPECIFICATIONS. 


317 


Ills  garments  to  be  'parted.  —  His  garments  were  to 
he  parted,  and  upon  his  vesture  lots  were  to  be  cast. 
"  They  part  my  garments  among  them,  and  cast  lots 
upon  my  vesture.”  Ps.  xxii.  18.  "Then  the  soldiers, 
when  they  had  crucified  Jesus,  took  his  garments,  and 
made  four  parts,  to  every  soldier  a  part ;  and  also  his 
coat ;  now  the  coat  was  without  seam,  woven  from  the 
top  throughout.  They  said  therefore  among  themselves, 
Let  us  not  rend  it,  but  cast  lots  for  it,  whose  it  shall 
be  :  that  the  Scripture  might  be  fulfilled.”  John  xix. 
23,  24. 

His  death  to  be  violent.  —  He  was  to  be  cut  off  by  a 
violent  death.  "For  he  was  cut  out  of  the  land  of  the 
living.”  Isa  liii.  8.  "And  after  threescore  and  two 
weeks  shall  Messiah  be  cut  off,  but  not  for  himself.” 

Dan.  ix.  26. 

Was  to  be  pierced.  —  He  was  to  be  pierced.  "And 
I  will  pour  upon  the  house  of  David,  and  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  the  spirit  of  grace  and'  of 
supplications  :  and  they  shall  look  upon  me  whom  they 
have  pierced.”  Zech.  xii.  10.  "But  one  of  the  soldiers 
with  a  spear  pierced  his  side,  and  forthwith  came  there¬ 
out  blood  and  water.”  John  xix.  34. 

To  make  his  grave  with  the  rich.  — He  was  to  make 
his  grave  with  the  rich.  "  And  he  made  his  grave  with 
the  wicked,  and  writh  the  rich  in  his  death.”  Isa.  liii.  9. 
"  When  the  even  was  come,  there  came  a  rich  man  of 
Arimathea,  named  Joseph,  who  also  himself  was  Jesus* 
disciple.  He  went  to  Pilate,  and  begged  the  body  of 
Jesus,  and  laid  it  in  his  own  new  tomb,  which  he  had 
hewn  out  in  the  rock.”  Matt,  xxvii.  57,  58,  60. 

Was  not  to  see  corruption.  —  He  was  not  to  see  cor¬ 
ruption.  "For  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell; 
neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corrup¬ 
tion.”  Ps.  xvi.  10.  "Men  and  brethren,”  says  Peter, 
after  citing  this  passage,  "let  me  freely  speak  unto  you 


318 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY . 


of  the  patriarch  David,  that  he  is  both  dead  and  buried, 
and  his  sepulchre  is  with  us  unto  this  day.  Therefore, 
being  a  prophet,  and  knowing  that  God  had  sworn  with 
an  oath  to  him,  that  of  the  fruit  of  his  loins,  according 
to  the  flesh,  he  would  raise  up  Christ  to  sit  on  his 
throne,  he,  seeing  this  before,  spake  of  the  resurrection 
of  Christ ,  that  his  soul  was  not  left  in  hell,  neither  his 
flesh  did  see  corruption.”  Acts  ii.  29-31. 

And  yet  there  are  some  who  say  that  these  prophecies 
are  no  prophecies,  and  were  never  claimed  to  be.  But 
I  think  it  evident  that  Peter  did  not  belong,  as  an  inter¬ 
preter  of  prophecy,  to  the  schools  of  German  neology. 

Convergence  of  the  passages.  —  These  passages  are 
far  from  being  all  that  might  be  adduced.  Respecting 
some  of  them  as  they  stand,  a  person  without  previous 
knowledge  would  be  led  to  ask  the  question  of  the 
Ethiopian  eunuch,  "I  pray  thee,  of  whom  speaketh  the 
prophet  this  ?  of  himself,  or  of  some  other  man  ?  ”  But 
when  we  see  these  passages  brought  together ;  when 
we  see  their  wonderful  convergence,  so  that  the  history 
of  Christ,  from  his  miraculous  birth  —  of  the  foretelling 
of  which  I  have  not  spoken  —  to  his  death,  was  only 
their  counterpart;  when  we  find  that  the  Jews  them¬ 
selves  referred  most  of  them  to  the  Messiah,  and  that 
they  are  expressly  claimed  by  Christ  and  his  apostles, 
the  general  argument  becomes  exceedingly  strong.  How 
strong  it  is  may  be  seen  by  any  one  who  will  attempt  to 
apply  one  tenth  part  of  these  passages  to  any  other  per¬ 
son  that  ever  lived.  Let  him  attempt  to  apply  them  to 
Titus,  of  whom  Josephus  says  that  he  was  the  extraor¬ 
dinary  person  foretold,  and  see  how  he  will  succeed. 
If  we  admit  that  these  prophecies  were  extant  before 
the  coming  of  Christ,  —  and  of  this  we  have  the  best 
possible  evidence,  because,  as  was  said  by  an  ancient 
father,  the  Jews,  the  enemies  of  Christianity,  were  the 
librarians  of  Christians,  —  and  if  we  estimate  mathemat- 


OFFICES  OF  CHRIST. 


319 


ically,  by  the  doctrine  of  chances,  the  probability  that 
these  circumstances  would  meet  in  one  person,  it  would, 
as  is  said  by  Dr.  Gregory,  surpass  the  powers  of  num¬ 
bers  to  express  the  immense  improbability  of  its  taking 
place. 

Offices  of  Christ  foretold.  — But,  striking  as  are  these 
passages  in  their  application  to  Christ,  while  many  of 
them,  if  not  applied  to  him,  would  seem  to  mean  noth¬ 
ing,  they  are  yet  far  from  giving  the  whole  weight  of 
the  argument ;  for  not  only  were  the  circumstances  of 
his  life  and  death  minutely  pointed  out,  but  his  offices 
were  also  described. 

Was  to  be  a  prophet.  —  He  was  to  be  a  prophet,  like 
unto  Moses.  "I  will  raise  them  up  a  Prophet  from 
among  their  brethren,  like  unto  thee,  and  will  put  my 
words  in  his  mouth ;  and  he  shall  speak  unto  them  all 
that  I  shall  command  him.”  Deut.  xviii.  18.  This  is 
expressly  quoted  by  Peter,  in  the  Acts,  (iii.  22,)  as 
fulfilled  by  Christ. 

A  priest.  - — He  was  to  be  a  priest.  "The  Lord  hath 
sworn,  and  will  not  repent,  Thou  art  a  priest  forever 
after  the  order  of  Melchisedek.”  Ps.  cx.  4.  "Called 
of  God,”  says  Paul,  "  a  high  priest  after  the  order  of 
Melchisedek.”  Heb.  v.  10. 

A  king. — He  was  to  be  a  king.  "Yet  have  I  set 
my  King  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion.”  Ps.  ii.  6.  "Thy 
people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power.”  Ps. 
cx.  3.  "All  power,”  says  Christ,  "is  given  unto  me  in 
heaven  and  in  earth.”  Matt,  xxviii.  18.  "For  he  must 
reign,”  says  Paul,  "till  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under 
his  feet.”  1  Cor.  xv.  25. 

Kingdom  of  peace.  -—His  kingdom  was  to  be  one  of 
peace.  "For  unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is 
given  :  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder  : 
and  his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counselor, 
The  mighty  God,  The  everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of 


320 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Peace .  Of  the  increase  of  his  government  and  peace 
there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the  throne  of  David,  and 
upon  his  kingdom,  to  order  it,  and  to  establish  it  with 
judgment  and  with  justice  from  henceforth,  even  for¬ 
ever.”  Isa.  ix.  6,  7.  "And  they  shall  beat  their  swords 
into  plowshares,  and  their  spears  into  pruning-kooks , 
nation  shall  not  lift  up  a  sword  against  nation,  neither 
shall  they  learn  war  any  more.”  Micah  iv.  3.  "They 
shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain.” 
Isa.  xi.  9. 

To  include  the  Gentiles.  — His  kingdom  was  also  to 
include  the  Gentiles.  "And  he  said,  It  is  a  light  thing 
that  thou  shouldest  be  my  servant  to  raise  up  the  tribes 
of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  preserved  of  Israel :  I  will 
also  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou 
mayest  be  my  salvation  unto  the  end  of  the  earth.” 
Isa.  xlix.  6.  "And  the  Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy 
light,  and  kings  to  the  brightness  of  thy  rising.  The 
abundance  of  the  sea  shall  be  converted  unto  thee,  the 
forces  of  the  Gentiles  shall  come  unto  thee.”  Isa.  lx. 
3,5.  This  is  especially  remarkable,  because  there  was 
nothing  in  the  feeling  of  the  Israelites,  or  in  their  rela¬ 
tions  to  the  nations  around  them,  in  the  time  of  Isaiah, 
to  indicate  the  possibility  of  a  spiritual  and  universal 
kingdom,  in  which  the  Gentiles  should  become  fellow- 
citizens,  and  have  equal  privileges  with  the  Jews. 

Here,  then,  we  have  the  three  great  offices  of  prophet, 
priest,  and  king,  united  by  prophecy  in  one  person ; 
we  have  a  kingdom  of  peace,  and  that  kingdom  one 
which  was  to  include  all  nations.  How  perfectly  all 
this  is  fulfilled  in  the  person  and  kingdom  of  Christ  I 
need  not  say ;  nor  how  entirely  impossible  it  would  be 
to  make  these  passages  apply  to  any  other  person  or 
kingdom. 

Prophecies  seemingly  incompatible.  —  And  not  only 
were  these  three  great  offices  united  in  one  person, 


SEEMING  INCOMPATIBILITY. 


321 


but  the  prophecies  respecting  him  were  so  apparently 
incompatible  and  contradictory  that  it  must  have  seemed 
beforehand  impossible  they  should  be  fulfilled,  and  they 
must  have  caused  great  perplexity  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  were  unwilling  to  receive  the  word  of  God  and  rest 
on  it  by  simple  faith.  Now,  he  was  represented  as  a 
triumphant  conqueror,  as  a  king  sitting  upon  the  throne 
of  David,  and  ruling  all  nations,  and  now  he  was  spoken 
of  as  ”  despised  and  rejected  of  men,”  as  ”  oppressed 
and  afflicted.”  It  was  said  of  the  Messiah,  "I  have  set 
my  King  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion,”  and  that  "  of  the 
increase  of  his  government  and  peace  there  shall  be  no 
end.”  It  was  also  said  of  him,  "  After  threescore  and 
two  weeks  shall  Messiah  be  cut  off.”  What  contradic¬ 
tions,  might  a  Jew  have  said,  have  we  here  !  A  King 
who  is  to  have  perpetual  dominion,  and  is  to  reign  till 
he  has  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet,  and  yet  is  to  be 
despised,  and  rejected,  and  oppressed  !  A  Messiah  who 
is  to  be  slain,  and  yet  is  to  reign  forever  !  These  asser¬ 
tions  might,  indeed,  have  been  received  separately,  by 
faith,  as  the  word  of  God;  a  reasonable  Jew  would 
have  so  received  them ;  but,  before  the  event,  he  could 
not  have  understood  and  reconciled  them  with  each 
other ;  and  yet  the  demand  made  by  each  of  these  as¬ 
pects  of  the  prophecy  is  fully  met  in  Christ. 

Fulfilled  by  enemies . — How,  then,  can  the  conclu¬ 
sion  be  avoided,  that  these  prophecies  were  given  by 
inspiration  of  God?  Not  by  the  supposition  that  they 
were  fulfilled  by  human  contrivance,  for  the  enemies  of 
Christ,  far  more  than  his  friends,  contributed  to  that 
fulfillment.  As  was  said  by  Paul,  (Acts  xiii.  27,) 
"They  that  dwell  at  Jerusalem,  and  their  rulers,  be¬ 
cause  they  knew  him  not,  nor  yet  the  voices  of  the 
prophets  which  are  read  every  Sabbath  day,  they  have 
fulfilled  them  in  condemning  him.”  It  was  they  that 
smote  him,  and  hung  him  on  a  tree,  and  parted  his 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


garments  among  them,  and  cast  lots,  and  pierced  his 
side.  It  was  they  who  paid  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver, 
the  goodly  price  at  which  they  valued  him,  and  who 
bought,  with  the  price  of  blood,  the  potter’s  field.  Nor 
can  this  conclusion  be  avoided  on  the  supposition  of 
chance  ;  for,  as  has  already  been  said,  it  would  surpass 
the  power  of  numbers  to  express  the  extreme  improba¬ 
bility  of  the  fulfillment  of  such  prophecies. 

Types  prophetic. — Nor  is  this  all;  for  it  would  be 
easy  to  show  that  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament  dis¬ 
pensation,  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  with  all  its  arrange¬ 
ments,  the  passover,  the  sacrifices,  the  ceremonies,  the 
priesthood,  were  all  typical,  and  therefore  prophetic; 
and  that  the  true  import  and  substance  of  all  these  is  to 
be  found  in  the  Christian  dispensation.  This,  however, 
is  a  great  subject,  and  I  can  not  enter  upon  it. 

Prophecies  by  Christ  and  the  apostles. — We  now 
come  to  the  fourth  point  mentioned  —  namely,  that 
Christ  and  his  apostles  uttered  prophecies  which  have 
been  fulfilled  since  their  time,  and  which  are  in  the 
process  of  fulfillment  now.  Fully  to  illustrate  this  po¬ 
sition,  would  require  a  lecture.  I  can  only  glance  at  it. 

The  destruction  of  Jerusalem. — As  the  prophecy  of 
Christ  respecting  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  had  for 
one  of  its  objects  to  warn  his  followers  to  escape  from 
that  city,  it  was  delivered  in  the  most  direct  and  ex¬ 
plicit  terms.  Before  the  time  of  Christ,  and  during  his 
life,  no  false  Christ  arose  ;  there  was  no  war,  and  no 
prospect  of  one  ;  and  the  Temple,  and  Jerusalem,  were 
standing  in  all  their  strength.  But  he  foretold  that 
false  Christs  should  arise,  and  should  deceive  many; 
that  there  should  be  earthquakes  and  famine,  and  fear¬ 
ful  sights  in  heaven,  and  wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  and 
great  tribulation,  such  as  was  not  since  the  beginning 
of  the  world,  nor  ever  should  be  ;  and  that  Jerusalem 


VERIFICATION, 


323 


should  be  compassed  with  armies ;  and  that  a  trench 
should  be  cast  round  about  it ;  and  that  one  stone  of 
the  Temple  should  not  be  left  upon  another ;  and  that 
the  Jews  should  be  carried  captive  among  all  nations. 
Paul  also  prophesied  of  the  great  apostasy,  and  the 
coming  of  the  man  of  sin  ;  and  John,  in  the  Revelation, 
has  spoken  of  the  course  of  events  till  the  end  of  time. 

Josephus.  —  To  verify  the  prophecies  of  Christ  re¬ 
specting  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  events 
preceding  it,  we  have  a  history  of  those  times,  written 
by  Josephus,  an  eye  witness  and  a  Jew ;  and  nothing 
can  be  more  striking  than  a  comparison  of  the  history 
and  the  prophecy.  Josephus  gives  particular  accounts 
of  the  false  Christs  and  false  prophets,  and  of  their 
deceiving  many.  He  speaks  of  the  distracted  state  of 
those  countries,  corresponding  to  the  prophecy  ;  of  wars 
and  rumors  of  wars  ;  and  says  that  the  "  disorders  of 
all  Syria  were  terrible.  For  every  city  was  divided 
into  parties  armed  against  each  other,  and  the  safety 
of  one  depended  on  the  destruction  of  the  other ;  the 
days  were  spent  in  slaughter,  and  the  nights  in  terrors.” 
He  speaks  also  of  famines,  and  pestilences,  and  earth¬ 
quakes,  and  especially  of  "fearful  sights,  and  great 
signs  from  heaven.”  He  tells  us  that  just  before  the 
war,  a  star,  resembling  a  sword,  stood  over  the  city, 
and  a  comet  that  continued  a  whole  year  ;  that  "  before 
sunsetting,  chariots,  and  troops  of  soldiers  in  their 
armor,  were  seen  running  about  among  the  clouds,  and 
surrounding  cities.”  He  says,  also,  "At  the  feast  of 
Pentecost,  as  the  priests  were  going  by  night  into  the 
inner  court  of  the  Temple,  they  felt  a  quaking,  and 
heard  a  great  noise,  and,  after  that,  they  heard  the 
sound  as  of  a  multitude,  saying,  '  Let  us  depart  hence  ! 

Tacitus.  —  Nor  is  Josephus  alone  in  giving  these 
accounts.  Tacitus,  also,  says,  "There  were  many  prod¬ 
igies  presignifying  their  ruin,  which  was  not  averted  by 


324 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY . 


all  the  sacrifices  and  vows  of  that  people.  Armies  were 
seen  fighting  in  the  air  with  brandished  weapons.  A 
fire  fell  upon  the  Temple  from  the  clouds.  The  doors 
of  the  Temple  were  suddenly  opened.  At  the  same 
time  there  was  a  loud  voice  declaring  that  the  gods  were 
removing,  which  was  accompanied  with  a  sound  as  of  a 
multitude  going  out.  All  which  things  were  supposed, 
by  some,  to  portend  great  calamities.”  He  speaks,  also, 
of  the  fact  that  Jerusalem  was  compassed  by  an  army 
at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  that,  owing  to  the 
state  of  parties,  many  of  the  principal  men  were  about 
to  open  the  gates  ;  but  says  that  the  Roman  general 
recalled  the  soldiers  from  the  place  without  having 
received  any  defeat,  and  retired  from  the  city,  without 
any  reason  in  the  world.  He  then  mentions  that,  when 
the  Roman  armies  approached  again,  a  great  multitude 
tied  to  the  mountains.  Thus  a  way  was  made  for  the 
disciples  of  Christ  to  escape,  and  it  is  not  known  that 
a  single  one  of  them  perished  in  that  destruction.  It 
really  seems  to  have  prefigured  the  final  destruction  of 
the  wicked,  when  the  righteous  shall  all  have  been  gath¬ 
ered  from  among  them. 

Josephus  also  speaks  particularly  of  the  trench  and 
wall  which  were  made  about  Jerusalem  by  Titus.  This 
was  done  with  great  difficulty,  and,  except  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  a  little  more  speedy  reduction  of  the  city,  with¬ 
out  necessity,  and  was  contrary  to  the  advice  of  the 
chief  men  of  Titus.  But  so  it  was  written.  In  respect 
to  the  tribulation  of  those  days,  of  which  our  Saviour 
speaks  so  strongly,  if  the  purpose  of  Josephus  had  been 
to  confirm  the  words  of  the  prophecy,  he  could  have 
said  nothing  more  to  the  point.  "No  other  city,”  says 
he,  "  ever  suffered  such  miseries  ;  nor  was  there  ever  a 
generation  more  fruitful  in  wickedness  from  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  world.”  Again  :  "  It  appears  to  me  that 
the  misfortunes  of  all  men,  from  the  beginning  of  the 


DESTRUCTION  OF  JERUSALEM. 


325 


world,  if  they  be  compared  to  those  of  the  Jews,  are 
not  so  considerable.  For  in  reality  it  was  God  who 
condemned  the  whole  nation,  and  turned  every  course 
that  was  taken  for  their  preservation  to  their  destruc¬ 
tion.”  And  again:  "The  multitude  of  those  who  per¬ 
ished  exceeded  all  the  destructions  that  man  or  God 
ever  brought  upon  the  world.”  The  great  mass  of  the 
nation  was  gathered  within  the  city.  They  were  di¬ 
vided  into  contending  factions,  who  fought  with  the 
fury  of  fiends  against  each  other.  Famine  did  its  slow 
but  fearful  work,  so  that  women  were  known  to  eat 
their  own  children.  And  while  those  within  were  thus 
the  prey  of  famine  and  of  each  other,  those  who  at¬ 
tempted  to  escape  were  taken  by  the  Roman  soldiers 
and  nailed  on  crosses,  some  one  way,  some  another, 
as  it  were  in  jest,  around  the  outside  of  the  walls,  till 
so  great  was  the  number,  that  room  was  wanting  for 
crosses,  and  crosses  for  bodies.  As  Titus  beheld  the 
dead  bodies  that  had  been  thrown  from  the  walls  into 
the  valleys,  "he  lifted  up  his  hands  to  heaven,  and 
called  God  to  witness  that  this  was  not  his  doing.” 
These  were  "  the  days  of  vengeance  ;  ”  and  it  is  com¬ 
puted  by  Josephus  that  upward  of  one  million  three 
hundred  thousand  persons  perished  in  the  siege  of 
Jerusalem  alone.  And  not  only  so,  but,  when  the  city 
was  taken,  it  was,  contrary  to  the  wish  of  Titus,  de¬ 
voted  to  utter  destruction  ;  and  the  prophecy  of  Christ, 
that  not  one  stone  of  the  Temple  should  be  left  upon 
another,  w^as  literally  fulfilled. 

Other  prophecies.  —  Of  the  other  prophecies  I  have 
not  time  to  speak ;  but  the  Jews  were  carried  into  cap¬ 
tivity  among  all  nations,  and  their  condition  from  that 
time  till  now  has  been  a  standing  and  wonderful  attes- 
tation  of  the  truth  of  the  prophetic  record,  while  their 
present  condition  is  an  evident  preparation  for  the  fill- 

v 


326 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


fillment  of  those  still  more  wonderful  prophecies  which 
now  stand  like  the  bow  of  promise  overarching  the 
future.  According  to  that  expression  of  the  prophet, 
so  wonderfully  accurate,  they  have  been  sifted  among 
all  nations ;  yet  have  they,  of  all  ancient  people  simi¬ 
larly  situated,  alone  preserved  their  identity,  and  now 
seem  to  be  preparing  for  that  restoration  which  shall  not 
only  be  to  them  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecies,  but 
shall  be  as  life  from  the  dead  to  the  Gentile  nations. 

Summary.  —  Thus,  whether  we  look  at  the  proph¬ 
ecies  that  related  to  events  before  the  time  of  Christ, 
or  to  those  relating  to  him,  or  to  those  which  he  uttered, 
or  to  the  present  state  of  the  Jews,  and  indeed  of  the 
world,  as  indicating  a  complete  fulfillment  of  the 
prophecies,  we  shall  see  the  fullest  reason  to  believe 
that  "  the  prophecy  came  not  in  old  time  by  the  will  of 
man,  but  that  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.” 

Prophecy  and  Christianity  as  counterparts.  —  I  will 
only  add,  as  a  beautiful  instance  of  the  consistency 
of  all  Scripture,  that  the  magnificent  pictures  of  the 
prophets,  respecting  a  state  of  future  blessedness  on 
earth,  are  just  such  as  would  be  realized  by  the  entire 
prevalence  of  Christianity,  and  by  nothing  else.  These 
pictures  are  not  drawn  at  random,  or  in  general  terms. 
They  are  precise  and  definite.  They  represent  a  state 
of  peace,  and  purity,  and  love  —  of  high  social  enjoy¬ 
ment,  and  of  universal  prosperity.  And  it  is  only  by 
the  prevalence  of  Christianity  that  such  a  state  of  things 
can  be  realized.  Let  this  become  universally  preva¬ 
lent,  not  in  its  form  only,  but  in  its  spirit,  and  then 
nation  would  no  more  lift  up  sword  against  nation, 
neither  would  they  learn  war  any  more  ;  then  the  wolf 
also  would  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  lie 
down  with  the  kid ;  then  would  the  wilderness  and  sol- 


CONSUMMATION  OF  PROPHECY. 


327 


itary  place  be  glad  for  them,  and  the  desert  rejoice  ; 
then,  instead  of  the  thorn  would  come  up  the  fir-tree, 
and  instead  of  the  brier  would  come  up  the  myrtle-tree  ; 
then  would  the  inhabitants  of  the  rock  sing,  and  shout 
from  the  top  of  the  mountains ;  the  people  would  be  all 
righteous,  and  inherit  the  land  forever. 


LECTURE  XII. 


OBJECTIONS. —ARGUMENT  FOURTEENTH:  THE  PROPAGATION  OF 
CHRISTIANITY.  —  ARGUMENT  FIFTEENTH:  ITS  EFFECTS  AND 
TENDENCIES.  — SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSION. 

Objections.  — It  has  been  my  wish  to  present,  in  this 
course  of  lectures,  as  I  was  able,  the  positive  argument 
for  Christianity.  I  commenced  the  course  with  an 
invitation  to  you  to  go  with  me  round  about  our  Zion, 
and  tell  the  towers  thereof.  Those  towers  are  not  yet 
all  told.  To  some  of  the  most  common  and  effective 
topics  of  argument  I  have  yet  scarcety  referred,  and  I 
ought,  in  logical  order,  to  proceed  at  once  to  the  con¬ 
sideration  of  them.  This  I  have  thought  of  doing,  and 
of  omitting  to  say  any  thing  upon  the  objections  against 
Christianity.  To  the  consideration  of  these  I  should  be 
pleased  to  devote  at  least  a  lecture  ;  for,  while  there  are 
objections  which  are  unworthy  of  an  answer,  — while 
there  are  persons,  who  make  them,  who  would  be  no 
nearer  becoming  Christians  if  their  objections  were  all 
removed, — there  are  objections,  the  force  of  which  I 
think  may  be  removed,  that  weigh  heavily  upon  some 
who  are  sincerely  inquiring  for  the  truth.  To  every 
such  individual  I  would  give  my  hand.  I  would  make 
any  effort  to  relieve  him.  I  know  what  it  is  to  wade  in 
the  deep  waters  of  doubt,  and  the  blessedness  of  finding 
what  seems  to  me  to  be  the  rock.  For  the  sake  of  such 
I  would  gladly  dwell  upon  this  point  at  length ;  but  as 

(328) 


WAITING. 


329 


that  is  now  out  of  the  question,  I  will  make  a  few 
observations  on  the  subject  of  objections  generally,  and 
then  go  on  with  the  argument. 

Willingness  to  wait. — And  here,  if  I  may  be  per¬ 
mitted  to  drop  a  word  in  a  more  familiar  way  in  the  ear 
of  the  candid  and  practical  inquirer,  referring  to  my 
own  experience,  I  would  say,  that  I  have  found  great 
benefit  in  being  willing  —  a  lesson  which  we  are  all  slow 
to  learn  —  to  wait.  It  has  not  unfrequently  occurred 
that  I  have  stood  in  such  an  attitude  (perhaps  for 
months  or  years  together)  to  a  certain  objection  as  to 
see  no  way  of  evading  it,  till,  at  length,  light  would 
break  in,  and  I  could  see  with  perfect  distinctness  that 
there  was  nothing  in  it.  Are  there  not  many  here 
who  have  unexpectedly  met  with  something  which  has 
removed,  in  a  moment,  objections  which  have  lain  with 
weight  upon  their  minds  for  years  ?  I  well  remember 
when  it  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  a  direct  contradic¬ 
tion  between  Paul  and  James,  on  the  subject  of  faith 
and  'works.  It  seemed  so  to  Luther,  and,  because  he 
could  not  reconcile  them,  and  was  unwilling  to  wait,  he 
rejected  the  Epistle  of  James,  calling  it  a  strawy  Epis¬ 
tle.  I  can  now  see  that  Paul  and  James,  not  only  do 
not  contradict  each  other,  but  harmonize  perfectly.  I 
have  sometimes  compared  the  path  of  a  sincere  in¬ 
quirer  to  a  road  that  winds  among  the  hills.  Who  has 
not  seen  the  hills,  perhaps  the  high  mountains,  closing 
down  upon  such  a  road  so  as  to  render  it  apparently 
impossible  he  should  proceed ;  and  who  has  not  been 
surprised,  when  he  reached  the  proper  point  to  see  it, 
to  find  the  road  taking  an  unexpected  turn,  and  holding 
on  its  own  level  way.  And  to  such  a  point  I  think 
every  sincere  inquirer  will  come,  who  is  willing  to  fol¬ 
low  the  right  path  so  far  as  he  can  find  it,  and  to  wait, 
putting  up  the  petition,  and  adopting  the  resolution,  of 
Eiihu,  "That  which  I  see  not,  teach  thou  me;  if  I 


330 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


have  done  iniquity,  I  will  do  no  more.”  I  have  the 
fullest  conviction,  not  only  of  the  truth,  but  of  the 
philosophical  profoundness,  of  that  saying  of  our  Sa¬ 
viour,  "If  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of 
the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak 
of  myself.” 

JSfo  objection  that  objections  can  be  made.  —  But,  leav¬ 
ing  this,  I  observe,  in  the  first  place,  that  we  are  not  to 
have  our  confidence  in  the  Christian  religion  shaken, 
from  the  mere  fact  that  objections  can  be  made  against 
it.  There  are  those  who  seem  to  think  that,  if  an  ob¬ 
jection  can  be  made,  some  degree  of  uncertainty  i* 
introduced  at  once,  and  that  there  comes  to  be  a  balance 
of  probabilities.  But  this  is  not  so.  When  once  a 
thing  is  fairly  proved,  all  objections  must  go  for  noth¬ 
ing.  Yery  plausible  objections  may  be  made  to  many 
things  which  we  yet  know  to  be  true.  Thus  objections 
have  been  made  to  the  existence  of  matter,  and  to  the 
truth  of  the  evidence  of  the  senses,  which  a  plain  man 
would  find  it  difficult  to  answer,  and  which  yet  would 
have  no  weight  with  him  whatever.  We  all  believe 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  motion,  and  yet  there  may  be 
some  here  who  would  find  it  difficult  to  answer  the 
common  logical  objection  against  it.  Let  me  put  that 
objection.  You  will,  I  suppose,  all  agree  that,  if  any 
thing  moves,  it  must  move  either  where  it  is,  or  where 
it  is  not.  But  certainly  nothing  can  move  where  it  is, 
for  that  would  not  be  moving  at  all ;  and  it  would  seem 
quite  as  certain  that  nothing  could  move  where  it  is 
not ;  and  hence  there  is  no  such  thing  as  motion. 
"  There  are  objections,”  says  Dr.  Johnson,  "  to  a  vac¬ 
uum,  and  there  are  objections  to  &  plenum;  but  one  of 
these  must  be  true.”  But  to  any  one  who  has  been 
turned  aside,  and  is  eddying  round  among  these  shoals 
of  doubt,  I  would  recommend  that  masterly  pamphlet, 
by  Whately,  the  "  Historic  Doubts  respecting  the  Exist- 


WORLD  IN  A  STRANGE  STATE. 


33] 


ence  and  Acts  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte.”  I  think  it  would 
lead  him  to  see  that  there  may  be  plausible  objections 
against  that  concerning  which  there  can  not  be  the  least 
doubt. 

General  objections  not  valid. — I  observe,  secondly, 
that,  if  we  would  consider  the  objections  against  Chris¬ 
tianity  fairly,  we  must  distinguish  those  which  lie  against 
Christianity,  as  such,  from  those  which  may  be  made 
equally  against  any  religion  or  scheme  of  belief  whatever. 
This  world  is  in  a  strange  state.  There  is  a  condition  of 
things  very  different  from  what  we  should  suppose, 
beforehand,  there  would  be,  under  the  government  of 
a  God  of  infinite  power,  and  wisdom,  and  goodness ; 
and  it  is  not  uncommon  for  men  to  burden  Christianity 
with  all  the  difficulties  that  are  connected  with  the  origin 
of  evil,  or  the  doctrine  of  the  foreknowledge  of  God  as 
connected  with  human  freedom.  But  these  are  ques¬ 
tions  that  belong  to  the  race,  and  have  equally  exercised 
the  mind  of  the  Grecian  philosopher,  of  the  Persian 
sage,  and  of  the  Christian  divine.  You,  as  a  man,  may 
be  as  properly  called  on  to  solve  any  difficulties  arising 
out  of  such  questions,  as  I  can  as  a  teacher  of  Chris¬ 
tianity.  Christianity  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  origin 
of  evil.  It  takes  for  granted,  what  we  must  all  admit, 
that  it  exists ;  it  does  not  attempt  to  account  for  its 
origin,  but  it  proposes  a  remedy.  If,  then,  men  object 
to  Christianity,  let  them  object  to  it  as  what  it  claims 
to  be.  Let  them  show  that,  when  fairly  received  and 
fully  practiced  by  all  men,  it  would  not  be  the  remedy 
which  it  claims  to  be,  and  their  objections  will  be  valid. 
It  is  of  no  avail  for  infidels  and  deists  to  shoot  arrows 
against  Christianity  which  may  be  picked  up  and  shot 
back  with  equal  force  against  their  own  systems ;  and 
yet  a  much  larger  portion  of  the  objections  against 
Christianity  than  is  commonly  supposed  is  of  this 
character. 


332 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Distinction  of  Butler.— 1  observe,  thirdly,  that  we 
are  to  keep  in  mind  the  distinction  of  Butler,  already 
referred  to,  between  objections  against  Christianity  and 
objections  against  its  evidence.  Of  the  evidence  for 
Christianity  we  are  capable  of  judging.  I  insist  upon  it 
that  there  are  laws  of  evidence,  which  any  man  of  good 
sense  can  understand,  according  to  which  we  judge  and 
act  in  other  cases  ;  and  I  only  ask  that  these  same  laws 
may  be  applied  to  Christianity,  as  a  matter  of  fact  and 
a  ground  of  action,  just  as  they  would  be  to  any  thing 
else.  But  of  Christianity  itself,  as  a  part  of  an  infinite 
scheme  of  moral  government,  having  relation  to  the 
eternity  that  is  past  and  to  that  which  is  to  come,  and 
perhaps  to  other  worlds  and  to  other  orders  of  being, 
we  ought  as  much  to  expect  that  we  should  find  in  it 
things  beyond  our  reach,  and  which  would  seem  to  us 
strange  and  objectionable,  as  that  there  would  be  such 
things  in  nature.  And  if,  as  Butler  has  most  fully 
shown,  the  objections  which  are  made  against  Chris¬ 
tianity  are  of  the  same  kind  with  those  which  may  be 
made  against  nature,  then  those  very  objections  are 
turned  into  arguments  in  its  favor,  as  they  show  the 
probability  that  Christianity  and  nature  came  from  the 
same  hand.  Here  is  one  principal  source  of  the  power 
of  Butler’s  great  work.  It  shows  that  ail  the  chief 
objections  which  are  urged  against  Christianity  may  be 
urged  equally  against  the  constitution  and  course  of 
nature,  and  would  equally  show  that  that  was  not  from 
God.  If  Christianity  itself  can  be  shown  to  be  either 
immoral  or  absurd,  we  will  reject  it ;  but,  with  these 
exceptions,  objections  to  Christianity  on  the  part  of 
such  a  being  as  man,  as  distinguished  from  objections 
against  its  evidence,  are,  in  the  language  of  Butler, 
”  frivolous.”  Nor,  in  saying  this,  do  we  undervalue 
reason,  or  refuse  to  give  it  its  true  place.  To  quote 
Butler  again  :  Let  reason  be  kept  to  ;  and  if  any  part 


MOTIVES  FOR  OBJECTIONS  TO  CHRISTIANITY.  333 


of  the  Scripture  account  of  the  redemption  of  the 
world  by  Christ  can  be  shown  to  be  really  contrary 
to  it,  let  the  Scripture,  in  the  name  of  God,  be  given 
up  ;  but  let  not  such  poor  creatures  as  we  go  on  object¬ 
ing,  against  an  infinite  scheme,  that  we  do  not  see  the 
necessity  and  usefulness  of  all  its  parts,  and  call  this 
reasoning.” 

Objections  to  every  scheme .  —  Character  of  infidelity . 
—  But,  fourthly,  we  are  to  observe  that  Christianity  is 
not  the  only  scheme  against  which  objections  can  be 
made.  From  its  position,  its  success,  its  uncompromis¬ 
ing  claims,  Christianity  has  been  met  from  the  first  by 
every  objection  that  ingenuity,  quickened  by  a  love  of 
pleasure  and  hatred  of  restraint,  could  invent ;  and, 
from  the  constancy  with  which  these  have  been  plied, 
it  has  been  felt  by  many  that  Christianity  was  especially 
liable  to  objections.  It  has  hence  been  the  habit  of 
many  Christians  to  stand  on  the  defensive,  and  infidels 
have  felt  that  it  was  their  place  to  attack.  In  propor¬ 
tion  as  any  scheme  has  about  it  more  that  is  positive,  it 
of  course  presents  a  larger  surface  for  objections  ;  but 
as  far  as  other  schemes  have  any  thing  positive  about 
them,  they  are  equally  liable  to  objections  with  Chris¬ 
tianity,  and  have  none  of  its  evidence.  And  the  only 
reason  that  these  schemes  have  not  been  as  much  ob¬ 
jected  against  is,  that  men  do  not  care  enough  about 

them.  If  an  infidel  has  nothing  positive  in  his  belief, 

then,  of  course,  nothing  can  be  objected  to  it.  But  if 
it  were  possible,  as  it  is  not,  for  any  man  to  take  such 
a  position,  we  should  object  to  that.  We  say  that  it  is 
a  state  of  mind  from  which  no  good  can  possibly  come, 
either  to  the  individual  or  the  community.  It  is  a  poor, 
cold,  heartless  state,  furnishing  no  ground  for  hope,  no 
elevation  to  character,  no  motive  to  effort,  that  has  no 
adaptation  to  the  wants  of  man  even  in  prosperity,  and 
that  must  utterly  fail  him  in  those  trying  hours  when  lie 


334 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


needs  such  supports  as  religion  only  can  give.  It  can 
be  made  to  appear,  from  the  very  laws  of  mind,  that 
great  achievements,  powerful  exertions,  self-denying 
labors  and  sacrifices,  must  spring  from  a  vigorous  faith  ; 
and  that,  in  proportion  as  a  belief,  or  a  religion,  be¬ 
comes  one  of  negations,  it  must  lower  the  pulse  of 
intellectual,  and  especially  of  moral  life.  Let  a  man, 
however,  have  any  thing  positive  in  his  belief,  —  let  him 
bring  forward  his  own  solution  of  the  great  problems 
which  must  be  connected  in  the  mind  of  every  thinking 
man  with  human  life  and  destiny,  —  and  it  would  be  no 
difficult  matter  —  a  very  child  could  do  it  —  to  start  ob¬ 
jections  against  that  solution,  whatever  it  might  be, 
which  it  would  trouble  the  wisest  infidel  to  meet.  Hence 
I  have  sometimes  been  amused  at  the  effect,  upon  a  noisy 
and  boastful  objector,  of  a  quiet  question  or  two  in  regard 
to  his  own  belief.  I  have  seen  those  to  whom  it  never 
seemed  to  have  occurred  that  we  were  thrown  into  this 
world  together  with  certain  great  common  difficulties, 
and  that  other  people  could  ask  questions  as  well  as 
they.  Whenever,  indeed,  infidelity  has  thus  assumed 
a  positive  form,  it  has  been  met  and  fairly  driven  from 
the  field  ;  and  now,  it  is  difficult  to  say  what  the  preva¬ 
lent  form  of  it  is.  It  has  always  been  Ishmaelitish  in 
its  habits,  pitching  its  tent  now  here  and  now  there, 
and  constantly  varying  its  mode  of  attack.  The  infi¬ 
delity  of  one  age  is  not  that  of  another,  while  Chris¬ 
tianity  remains  ever  the  same.  And  so  we  are  to 
expect  it  will  be  while  the  human  heart  remains  what  it 
is.  Infidelity  will  exist.  There  is  at  present  more  of 
it  than  appears.  Not  being  reputable  in  its  own  form, 
it  conceals  itself  under  various  disguises.  But  the 
infidelity  that  springs  from  the  heart  is  not  to  be 
reached  by  a  course  of  lectures  on  the  evidences  of 
Christianity .  As  I  have  already  said,  argument  did 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY". 


335 


not  cause,  and  argument  will  not  remove  it.  For  that, 
we  look  to  a  higher  power. 

ARGUMENT  XIV. 

THE  PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

I  now  proceed  with  the  evidence.  As  yet  I  have 
said  nothing  of  the  argument  to  be  derived  from  the 
mode  and  circumstances  of  the  propagation  of  Chris¬ 
tianity,  and  have  only  incidentally  alluded  to  its  effects 
and  tendencies.  Each  of  these  is  a  standing  topic  of 
argument  on  this  subject,  and,  when  properly  presented, 
sufficient  of  itself  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion.  But  I  shall  now  be  able  to  do  little  more  than 
to  indicate  the  place  which  these  arguments  hold,  with¬ 
out  giving  them  their  proper  expansion  and  force. 
These  topics  of  argument  are  entirely  distinct  in  their 
nature,  but  are  so  connected  at  certain  points  that  it  is 
difficult  to  treat  of  one  without  involving  considerations 
which  belong  also  to  the  other. 

Propagation.  —  First,  then,  of  the  propagation  of 
Christianity :  And  in  speaking  of  this  subject,  I  will 
notice,  1,  the  facts;  2,  the  difficulties;  and,  3,  the 
instrumentality.  This  subject  has  been  ably  treated  by 
Bishop  MTlvaine,  in  his  excellent  lectures  on  the  evi¬ 
dences,  and  I  shall  avail  myself  of  his  labors  in  pre¬ 
senting  it.* 

It  would  appear,  then,  that  on  the  fiftieth  day  after 
the  death  of  Christ  the  apostles  commenced  their  labors. 
'"Beginning  in  Jerusalem,  the  very  furnace  of  persecu¬ 
tion,  they  first  set  up  their  banner  in  the  midst  of  those 
who  had  been  first  in  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  and  were 
all  elate  with  the  triumph  of  that  tragedy.  No  assem¬ 
blage  could  have  been  more  possessed  of  dispositions 
perfectly  at  war  with  their  message  than  that  to  which 
they  made  their  first  address.”  And  what  was  the  tenor 


*  Lecture  IX. 


336 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


of  the  address?  "Jesus  of  Nazareth,”  said  Peter, 
"  being  delivered  by  the  determinate  counsel  and  fore¬ 
knowledge  of  God,  ye  have  taken,  and  by  wicked  hands 
have  crucified  and  slain ;  whom  God  hath  raised  up.  — 
Therefore  let  all  the  house  of  Israel  know,  assuredly, 
that  God  hath  made  that  same  Jesus,  whom  ye  have 
crucified,  both  Lord  and  Christ.”  One  would  have 
supposed  that  the  same  hands  that  had  rioted  in  the 
blood  of  his  Master  would  now  have  wreaked  their 
enmity  in  that  of  this  daring,  and,  to  all  human  view, 
most  impolitic  apostle.  But  what  ensued?  Three 
thousand  souls  wrere  that  day  added  to  the  infant 
church.  In  a  few  days,  the  number  was  increased  to 
five  thousand ;  and  in  the  space  of  about  a  year  and  a 
half,  though  the  gospel  was  preached  only  in  Jerusalem 
and  its  vicinity,  multitudes.,  both  of  men  and  women, 
and  a  great  company  of  the  priests,  were  obedient  to 
the  faith.  Now,  the  converts,  being  driven  by  a  fierce 
persecution  from  Jerusalem,  went  everywhere  preach¬ 
ing  the  word,  and  in  less  than  three  years  churches  were 
gathered  throughout  all  Judea,  Galilee,  and  Samaria, 
and  wTere  multiplied. 

About  two  years  after  this,  or  seven  from  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  work,  the  gospel  was  first  preached  to  the 
Gentiles ;  and  such  was  the  success,  that,  before  thirty 
years  had  elapsed  from  the  death  of  Christ,  his  church 
had  spread  from  Palestine  throughout  Syria ;  through 
almost  all  the  numerous  districts  of  Lesser  Asia ; 
through  Greece,  and  the  islands  of  the  ./Egean  Sea, 
the  sea-coast  of  Africa,  and  even  into  Italy  and  Rome. 
The  number  of  converts  in  the  several  cities  respec¬ 
tively  is  described  by  the  expressions,  "a  great  num¬ 
ber,”  "great  multitudes,”  "much  people.”  What  an 
extensive  impression  had  been  made  is  obvious  from 
the  outcry  of  the  opposers  at  Thessalonica.  "These 
that  have  turned  the  world  upside-down  are  come 


NUMBER  OF  CHRISTIANS. 


337 


hither  also.”  Demetrius,  an  enemy,  complained  of 
Paul,  "that  not  alone  at  Ephesus,  but  almost  through¬ 
out  all  Asia,”  he  had  persuaded  and  turned  away  much 
people.  In  the  mean  while,  Jerusalem,  the  chief  seat 
of  Jewish  rancor,  continued  the  metropolis  of  the  gos¬ 
pel,  having  in  it  many  tens  of  thousands  of  believers. 
These  accounts  are  taken  from  the  book  of  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles  ;  but  as  this  book  is  almost  confined 
to  the  labors  of  Paul  and  his  immediate  companions, 
saying  very  little  of  the  other  apostles,  it  is  very  certain 
that  the  view  we  have  given  of  the  propagation  of  the 
gospel  during  the  first  thirty  years  is  very  incomplete. 

In  the  thirtieth  year  after  the  beginning  of  the  work, 
the  terrible  persecution  under  Nero  kindled  its  fires ; 
then  Christians  had  become  so  numerous  at  Rome,  that, 
by  the  testimony  of  Tacitus,  a  "great  multitude  ”  were 
seized.  In  forty  years  more,  we  are  told,  in  a  cele¬ 
brated  letter  from  Pliny,  the  Roman  governor  of  Pontus 
and  Bythinia,  Christianity  had  long  subsisted  in  these 
provinces,  though  so  remote  from  Judea.  Many  of  all 
ages  and  of  every  rank,  of  both  sexes  likewise,  were 
accused  to  Pliny  of  being  Christians.  What  he  calls 
the  contagion  of  this  superstition  (thus  forcibly  de¬ 
scribing  the  irresistible  and  rapid  progress  of  Christian¬ 
ity)  had  seized  not  cities  only,  but  the  less  towns  also, 
and  the  open  country,  so  that  the  heathen  temples 
"  were  almost  forsaken ;  ”  few  victims  were  purchased 
for  sacrifice,  and  a  long  intermission  of  the  sacred 
solemnities  had  taken  place. 

J ustin  Martyr,  who  wrote  about  thirty  years  after 
Pliny,  and  one  hundred  after  the  gospel  was  first 
preached  to  the  Gentiles,  thus  describes  the  extent 
of  Christianity  in  his  time  :  "  There  is  not  a  nation, 

either  Greek  or  barbarian,  or  of  any  other  name,  even 
those  who  wander  in  tribes  and  live  in  tents,  among 
whom  prayers  and  thanksgivings  are  not  offered  to  the 


338 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY . 


Father  and  Creator  of  the  universe  by  the  name  of  the 
crucified  Jesus.” 

Clemens  Alexandrinus,  a  few  years  after,  thus  writes  : 
"The  philosophers  were  confined  to  Greece,  and  to 
their  particular  retainers  ;  but  the  doctrine  of  the  Mas¬ 
ter  of  Christianity  did  not  remain  in  Judea,  but  is 
spread  throughout  the  whole  world,  in  every  nation, 
and  village,  and  city,  converting  both  whole  houses  and 
separate  individuals,  having  already  brought  over  to  the 
truth  not  a  few  of  the  philosophers  themselves.  If  the 
Greek  philosophy  be  prohibited,  it  immediately  van¬ 
ishes  ;  whereas,  from  the  first  preaching  of  our  doc¬ 
trine,  kings  and  tyrants,  governors  and  presidents,  with 
their  whole  train,  and  with  the  populace  on  their  side, 
have  endeavored  with  their  whole  might  to  exterminate 
it,  yet  doth  it  flourish  more  and  more.” 

Nothing  can  so  well  represent  the  mode  in  which  this 
extension  took  place  as  the  comparison,  by  our  Saviour, 
of  Christianity  to  leaven.  It  had  an  affinity  for  the 
human  mind,  by  which  it  passed  from  individual  to 
individual,  as  the  leavening  process  passes  from  parti¬ 
cle  to  particle ,  and  no  human  power  could  arrest  its 
progress.  Since  the  world  stood,  no  change  like  it  has 
taken  place,  nor  has  any  power  existed  that  could  have 
produced  such  a  change. 

The  difficulties.  —  2.  In  estimating  the  obstacles  to 
this  progress,  we  are  to  observe  that  the  enterprise 
of  propagating  a  religion,  as  such,  and  especially  an 
exclusive  religion,  was  then  entirely  new.  The  Jewish 
system  was  not  adapted  to  universal  diffusion,  and  the 
zeal  of  the  Jews  was  directed  rather  to  keep  other 
nations  at  a  distance  than  to  bring  them  to  an  equal 
participation  of  their  privileges.  The  Gentiles  knew 
nothing  of  an  exclusive  religion,  nor  of  a  benevolent 
religion  —  exclusive  because  it  was  benevolent.  Hea¬ 
thenism,  being  without  a  creed  and  without  principle, 


CHRISTIANITY  EXCLUSIVE. 


339 


"  had  nothing  to  contend  for  but  the  privilege  of  assum¬ 
ing  any  form,  worshiping  any  idol,  practicing  any 
ritual,  and  pursuing  any  absurdity,  which  the  craft  of 
the  priesthood,  or  the  superstitions  and  vices  of  the 
people,  might  select.  It  never  was  imagined,  by  any 
description  of  pagans,  that  all  other  forms  of  religion 
were  not  as  good  for  the  people  observing  them,  as 
theirs  was  for  them ;  or  that  any  dictate  of  kindness, 
or  common  sense,  should  lead  them  to  attempt  the  sub¬ 
version  of  the  gods  of  their  neighbors,  for  the  sake  of 
establishing  their  own  in  their  stead.”  This  is  the 
species  of  charity  and  the  ground  of  harmony  —  arising 
from  a  want  of  the  knowledge  of  the  true  religion,  and 
of  its  unspeakable  value  —  which  is  so  highly  praised 
by  Gibbon  and  Voltaire. 

But,  in  such  a  state  of  things,  "nothing  could  have 
been  more  perfectly  new,  surprising,  or  offensive  to  the 
whole  Gentile  world,  than  the  duty  laid  upon  the  first 
advocates  of  Christianity  to  go  into  all  nations  assert¬ 
ing  the  exclusive  claims  of  the  gospel,  denouncing  the 
validity  of  all  other  religions,  and  laboring  to  bring 
every  creature  to  the  single  faith  of  Christ.”  And  then, 
how  different  the  religion  of  the  gospel,  not  only  in  its 
relation  to  other  religions,  but  in  itself,  from  any  of 
which  they  had  any  conception !  "  Religion,  among 

the  Gentiles,  was  a  creature  of  the  state.  It  consisted 
exclusively  in  the  outward  circumstances  of  temples, 
and  altars,  and  images,  and  priests,  and  sacrifices,  and 
festivals,  and  lustrations.  It  multiplied  its  objects  of 
worship  at  the  pleasure  of  the  civil  authorities ;  taught 
no  system  of  doctrine ;  recognized  no  system  of  moral¬ 
ity  ;  required  nothing  of  the  heart ;  committed  the  life 
of  man  to  unlimited  discretion ;  and  allowed  any  one 
to  stand  perfectly  well  with  the  gods,  (on  the  trilling 
condition  of  a  little  show  of  respect  for  their  worship,) 
to  whatever  extent  he  indulged  in  the  worst  passions 


340 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


and  lowest  propensities  of  his  nature.  Nothing  could 
have  been  more  foreign  to  every  habit  of  thought,  in 
the  mind  of  a  native  of  Greece  or  Rome,  than  the 
Scripture  doctrines  of  the  nature  and  guilt  of  sin,  of 
repentance,  conversion,  faith,  love,  meekness,  and  pu- 
rity  of  heart.” 

Both  Jeivs  and  heathen  opposed.  —  The  priests.  — 
In  the  nature  of  the  case,  such  a  religion  "must  have 
arrayed  against  it  all  the  influence  of  every  priesthood 
both  among  Jews  and  heathens.”  With  the  power  of 
the  priests  among  the  Jews,  and  their  bitterness  against 
Christianity,  we  are  sufficiently  acquainted,  but  are  less 
familiar  with  the  superstitious  dread  in  which  they  were 
held,  and  with  their  power  among  other  nations.  "The 
religion  of  the  nations,”  says  Gibbon,  "  was  not  merely 
a  speculative  doctrine  professed  in  the  schools  or  taught 
in  the  temples.  The  innumerable  duties  and  rites  of 
polytheism  were  closely  interwoven  with  every  cir¬ 
cumstance  of  business  or  of  pleasure,  of  public  or  of 
private  life  5  and  it  seemed  impossible  to  escape  the 
observance  of  them  without  at  the  same  time  renoun¬ 
cing  the  commerce  of  mankind.  The  important  transac¬ 
tions  of  peace  and  war  were  prepared  and  concluded  by 
solemn  sacrifices,  in  which  the  magistrate,  the  senator, 
and  the  soldier,  were  obliged  to  participate.” 

Speaking  of  the  priests,  the  same  author  says,  "  Their 
robes  of  purple,  chariots  of  state,  and  sumptuous  enter¬ 
tainments,  attracted  the  admiration  of  the  people ;  and 
they  received  from  the  consecrated  lands  and  public 
revenue  an  ample  stipend,  which  liberally  supported  the 
splendor  of  the  priesthood,  and  all  the  expenses  of  the 
religion  of  the  state.”  It  is  stated,  as  an  evidence  of 
the  extent  and  power  of  the  organizations  with  which 
this  priesthood  was  connected,  that,  sixty  years  after 
Christianity  had  been  the  established  religion  of  the 
Eoman  empire,  there  were  four  hundred  and  twenty-four 


CLASSES  OPPOSED  TO  CHRISTIANITY. 


341 


temples  and  chapels,  at  Rome,  in  which  their  worship 
was  celebrated.  "  In  connection  with  all  this  organiza¬ 
tion  and  deep-rooted  power  of  heathenism,  consider  its 
various  tribes  of  subordinate  agents  and  interested  allies, 
—  the  diviners,  augurs,  and  managers  of  oracles,  with 
all  the  attendants  and  assistants  belonging  to  the  tem¬ 
ples  of  a  countless  variety  of  idols ;  the  trades  whose 
craft  was  sustained  by  the  patronage  of  image- worship, 
such  as  statuary,  shrine-mongers,  sacrifice-sellers,  in¬ 
cense-merchants  ;  consider  the  great  festivals  and  games 
by  which  heathenism  flattered  the  dispositions  of  the 
people,  and  enlisted  all  classes  and  all  countries  in  its 
support,  —  and  say,  what  must  have  been  the  immense 
force  in  which  the  several  priesthoods  of  all  heathen 
nations  were  capable  of  uniting  among  themselves,  and 
with  the  priests  of  the  Jews,  in  the  common  cause  of 
crushing  a  religion  by  whose  doctrines  none  of  them 
could  be  tolerated.  That  with  all  their  various  contin¬ 
gents  they  did  unite,  consenting  in  this  one  object,  if 
in  little  else,  of  smothering  Christianity  in  her  cradle, 
or  of  drowning  her  in  the  blood  of  her  disciples,  all 
history  assures  us.” 

The  magistrates. — And  with  the  influence  of  the 
priests  was  associated  the  power  of  the  magistrate. 
The  true  principle  of  toleration  was  entirely  unknown 
among  heathen  nations,  and  is  to  this  day.  Toler¬ 
ation,  in  its  true  sense, — as  distinguished  from  indif¬ 
ference  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  zeal,  manifesting 
itself  through  a  wrong  spirit  and  in  a  wrong  direction, 
on  the  other,  —  is  not  natural  to  man.  It  is  a  Christian 
virtue.  The  heathen  were  ready  to  tolerate  any  thing 
which  did  not  interfere  with  the  established  worship  of 
the  state ;  but  the  moment  a  religion  arose  which  for¬ 
bade  its  followers  to  unite  in  that,  the  fires  of  a  relent¬ 
less  persecution  were  every  where  kindled,  and  the  whole 
force  of  the  civil  arm  was  brought  to  bear  upon  it. 

w 


342 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


The  populace.  — With  this  position  of  the  priesthood 
and  of  the  magistracy  toward  Christianity,  we  should 
naturally  expect  the  tumults  and  outbreaks  of  popular 
passion  which  we  find  were  generally  excited  when  it 
was  first  preached.  Vicious,  unprincipled,  accustomed, 
in  many  instances,  to  gladiatorial  shows  and  sights  of 
blood,  —  it  was  from  the  populace  that  the  more  im¬ 
mediate  danger  to  the  preachers  of  Christianity  often 
arose. 

The  philosophers. — Nor  was  Christianity  less  op¬ 
posed  to  the  philosophers,  or  less  opposed  by  them, 
than  by  other  classes  of  the  community.  "  Their  sects, 
though  numerous,  and  exceedingly  various,  were  all 
agreed  in  proudly  trusting  in  themselves  that  they  were 
wise,  and  despising  others.  Their  published  opinions, 
their  private  speculations,  their  personal  immorality, 
made  them  irreconcilable  adversaries  of  Christianity. 
It  went  up  into  their  schools,  and  called  their  wisdom 
foolishness,  and  rebuked  their  self-conceit.  'What  will 
this  babbler  say?  He  seemeth  to  be  a  setter  forth  of 
strange  gods,’  were  the  taunting  words  of  certain  of 
the  Epicureans  and  Stoics  when  they  encountered  St. 
Paul.  Mockery  was  the  natural  expression  of  their 
minds  when  they  heard  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
The  apostles,  therefore,  in  attempting  to  propagate  the 
gospel  among  the  Gentiles,  were  opposed  by  all  the  wit, 
and  learning,  and  sophistry,  —  all  the  pride,  and  jeal¬ 
ousy,  and  malice,  —  of  every  sect  of  philosophers.” 

General  state  of  the  ivorld.  —  These  remarks  will 
enable  us  to  judge  whether  the  state  of  the  world  was 
at  that  time  favorable  to  the  propagation  of  Christian¬ 
ity  ,  for  on  this  point  very  different  views  seem  to  be 
entertained  by  different  persons.  Of  those  who  think 
the  state  of  the  world  was  thus  favorable,  there  are  two 
.classes.  Some  have  thought  they  could  see  the  hand  of 
Divine  Providence  in  the  arrangements  and  preparations 


STATE  OF  THE  WORLD. 


343 


which  they  think  were  made  for  its  introduction ;  while 
others  evidently  speak  of  it  in  this  way  for  the  purpose 
of  diminishing  the  force  of  the  argument  usually  drawn 
from  the  propagation  of  Christianity.  To  the  most, 
however,  it  has  seemed  that  the  state  of  the  world 
never  opposed  greater  obstacles  to  the  propagation  of 
such  a  religion.  On  the  one  hand,  it  is  said  that  the 
world  was  at  peace,  and  was  united  under  one  govern¬ 
ment,  and  that  it  was  easy  to  pass  from  place  to  place, 
and  to  affect  a  large  mass,  and  that  the  force  of  the  old 
superstitions  was  expended,  and  that  the  minds  of  the 
people  were  prepared  for  a  new  religion.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  said  that  if  it  was  an  age  of  peace,  that  only 
gave  opportunity  to  examine  the  claims  of  the  new 
religion  with  the  more  care  ;  that  it  was.  an  enlightened 
age,  an  age  of  literature  and  refinement,  of  vice,  of  a 
general  prevalence  of  the  Epicurean  philosophy,  and  of 
skepticism ;  and  that  it  was  the  very  last  period  in  the 
history  of  the  world  in  which  any  thing  false  or  feeble 
would  have  been  likely  to  succeed.  This  is  my  im¬ 
pression. 

For  the  extension  of  such  a  religion  as  Christianity, 
with  its  indubitable  evidence  and  mighty  motives,  there 
were  certainly  many  things  most  favorable ;  but  if 
Christianity  had  not  been  what  it  claimed  to  be,  cer¬ 
tainly  the  most  enlightened,  and  civilized,  and  skeptical 
aire  which  the  world  had  ever  seen  would  have  been  the 

V — 

most  unfavorable  period  for  its  propagation.  What 
wrould  the  infidel  have  said,  if,  instead  of  springing  up 
in  this  age  of  light  and  refinement,  Christianity  had 
first  been  spread  among  an  ignorant  and  barbarous 
people?  But,  however  this  point  may  be  decided,  if 
any  man  thinks  it  could  be  an  easy  thing,  under  any 
circumstances,  to  cause  such  a  religion  as  Christianity 
to  take  the  place  of  anything,  or  of  nothing,  in  the 
mind  of  any  human  being,  so  that  that  person,  too, 


344 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


should  become  a  centre  of  influence  to  extend  the  reli¬ 
gion  to  others,  he  has  only  to  try  the  experiment  any 
where,  and  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances. 
Let  him  take  the  first  unconverted  man  he  meets  in  the 
streets,  and  try  to  make  him  an  active  Christian,  —  such 
as  tens  of  thousands  and  millions  must  have  become  on 
the  first  preaching  of  Christianity,  —  and  he  will  have 
some  conception  of  the  difficulty  of  working  a  change 
in  the  wills,  and  habits  of  thought,  and  object  of  pur¬ 
suit,  and  whole  mode  of  life,  of  people  of  different 
nations,  of  the  most  various  belief,  of  every  age  and 
condition.  But  this  did  the  apostles. 

The  instrumentality.  — 3.  And  now,  by  what  instru¬ 
mentality  did  they  accomplish  this?  On  this  I  need 
not  dwell.  Eleven  men,  —  for  it  was  not  till  after  the 
death  of  Christ  that  the  great  enterprise  of  converting 
the  world  was  commenced,  —  eleven  men,  without 
learning,  or  wealth,  or  rank,  or  power,  from  the  humble 
walks  of  life,  among  a  despised  people,  never  resorting 
to  force,  and  having  no  connection  with  politics,  by  a 
simple  statement  of  facts,  by  preaching  Christ  and  him 
crucified,  subverted  the  divinely-appointed  institutions 
of  Judaism,  and  overturned  the  superstitions  of  ages 
throughout  the  known  world.  The  history  of  the  race 
has  nothing  to  show  that  can  for  a  moment  compare 
with  this.  If  Mohammedanism  may  be  compared  with 
Christianity  in  respect  to  the  rapidity  of  its  extension, 
it  is  yet  in  entire  contrast  with  it  in  all  the  circum¬ 
stances  in  which  it  arose,  and  in  all  the  means  adopted 
for  its  diffusion.  While  it  confined  itself  to  persuasion, 
it  accomplished  nothing  worthy  of  notice  ;  and  it  never 
has  been  extended  at  all  in  the  only  method  by  which 
it  can  be  clearly  shown  that  a  true  religion  must  be 
extended.  Its  sway  is  perpetuated  only  as  it  holds  its 
sabre  over  the  neck  of  its  followers,  and  threatens  them 
with  instant  death  if  they  turn  to  any  other  religion. 


ARGUMENT  CONCLUDED. 


345 


Whether,  then,  we  examine  the  nature  of  the  ease,  or 
look  at  it  in  the  light  of  history,  we  must  feel  that  the 
propagation  of  such  a  religion,  in  opposition  to  such 
obstacles,  with  such  rapidity,  and  by  such  means,  is  a 
moral  miracle,  and  can  be  reasonably  imputed  only  to 
the  power  of  truth  and  of  God.  How  will  the  infidel 
account  for  it?  Does  he  believe  that  these  men  were 
weak  and  deluded  ?  Then  he  believes  that  weak  and 
deluded  men  could  accomplish  a  work  requiring  greater 
moral  power  than  any  other.  Does  he  believe  they 
were  deceivers  ?  Then  he  believes  that  these  men 
labored,  and  suffered,  and  died,  to  cause  others  to 
believe  that  which  they  did  not  believe  themselves 

ARGUMENT  XV. 

EFFECTS  AND  TENDENCIES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

We  now  proceed  to  the  effects  and  tendencies  oi 
Christianity.  If  it  can  be  she  wn  that  this  religion, 
and  this  alone,  has  been  the  cause  of  the  greatest 
blessings  that  mankind  have  enjoyed,  and  that,  if  fully 
received,  it  would  carry  the  individual  and  society  to 
the  highest  possible  state  of  perfection  in  this  life,  and 
fit  man  for  the  highest  conceivable  state  of  happiness 
hereafter, — it  must  be  from  God.  And  this  can  be 
shown.  Nor,  in  speaking  of  this  subject,  would  I  con¬ 
ceal  any  evil  that  has  taken  place  in  connection  with  the 
introduction  of  Christianity,  or  any  iniquity  that  has 
been  perpetrated  by  those  who  have  borne  its  name. 
I  only  ask  that  men  will  distinguish,  as  every  candid 
man  must,  between  tendencies  and  actual  results  when 
those  tendencies  are  perversely  and  wickedly  thwarted ; 
and  also  between  names  and  things. 

First  distinction. — The  persecution  by  Nero  —  to 
illustrate  the  first  distinction  —  was  an  evil,  and  with¬ 
out  Christianity  it  would  not  have  existed.  But  who 
or  what  was  the  cause  of  it?  Was  it  the  inoffensive 


346 


EVIDENCES  OE  CHRISTIANITY. 


Christians,  simply  asserting  their  own  inherent  right  to 
Icve  the  Saviour,  and  to  worship  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  their  own  conscience  ?  or  was  it  the  wicked¬ 
ness  of  Nero  and  of  his  creatures?  When,  at  the 
command  of  Christ,  the  devil  went  out  of  one  who  had 
been  possessed,  and  tore  him,  and  left  him  as  dead,  was 
it  Christ  who  was  the  cause  of  this  suffering?  And 
thus  has  it  always  been  with  Christianity,  whether  its 
object  has  been  to  enjoy  its  own  rights  or  to  benefit 
others.  If  evil  has  arisen,  it  has  been  because  men 
have  persecuted  Christians,  and  have  sought  to  take  from 
them  the  inalienable  rights  which  God  has  given ;  or 
because,  when  Christianity  has  attacked  great  and 
deeply-seated  evils,  as  idolatry  and  slavery,  men  have 
clung  to  these  with  a  wicked  pertinacity,  and  the  devil 
has  not  been  cast  out  of  society  without  rending  it. 

Second  distinction.  — In  regard  to  the  second  dis¬ 
tinction,  that  between  names  and  things,  there  is  a  very 
general  delusion  which  steals  insensibly  over  the  mind 
from  the  application  of  the  term  '  Christian  ’  to  those 
who  are  in  no  sense  governed  by  Christian  principle. 
If  men  would  test  the  effect  of  a  medicine,  they  must 
take  that,  and  not  something  else  which  they  may  choose 
to  call  by  that  name.  If  they  take  arsenic,  and  call  it 
flour,  the  mere  fact  that  they  call  it  by  a  wrong  name 
will  not  prevent  its  poisonous  effects.  And  so  am¬ 
bition,  and  pride,  and  vanity,  and  malice,  and  deceit, 
will  produce  their  own  appropriate  effects,  in  what¬ 
ever  form  of  society  they  may  exist,  and  by  whatever 
name  they  may  be  called.  Keeping  these  two  dis¬ 
tinctions  in  view,  it  may  easily  be  shown  that  Chris¬ 
tianity  has  really  been  the  cause  of  no  evil,  while  it  has 
conferred  infinite  blessings  upon  mankind,  and  only 
waits  to  be  fully  received,  to  introduce  a  state  as  per¬ 
fect  as  can  be  conceived  of  in  connection  with  the 
present  physical  constitution  of  things. 


EFFECTS  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


347 


Effects.  —  Certainly,  no  revolution  that  has  ever  taken 
place  in  society  can  he  compared  to  that  which  has  been 
produced  by  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ.  Those  words 
met  a  want,  a  deep  want,  in  the  spirit  of  man.  They 
placed  in  the  clear  sunlight  of  truth  a  solution  of  those 
profound  problems  and  enigmas,  in  relation  to  man  and 
his  destiny,  about  which  the  philosophers  only  disputed. 
They  more  than  confirmed  every  timid  hope  which  the 
wisest  and  best  of  men  had  cherished. 

He  pointed  men  to  a  Father  in  heaven,  to  the  man¬ 
sions  of  rest  which  he  would  prepare.  He  "  brought 
life  and  immortality  to  light.” 

He  erected  a  perfect  standard  of  morals,  and  insisted 
upon  love  to  God  and  love  to  man,  and  he  stood  before 
men  in  the  glorious  light  of  his  own  perfect  example. 

He  spoke,  and  that  spiritual  slumber  of  the  race  w-hich 
seemed  the  image  of  death  was  broken  up,  and  a  move¬ 
ment  commenced  in  the  moral  elements  that  has  not 
ceased  from  that  day  to  this,  and  never  will  cease. 

Those  who  were  mourning  heard  his  voice,  and  were 
comforted ;  those  who  were  wrnary  and  heavy-lader 
heard  it,  and  found  rest  unto  their  souls. 

It  stirred  up  feelings,  both  of  opposition  and  of  love* 
deeper  than  those  of  natural  affection.  It  therefore  set 
the  son  against  the  father,  and  the  father  against  the 
son,  and  caused  a  man’s  foes  to  be  they  of  his  own 
household. 

Having  no  affinity  with  any  of  the  prevalent  forms 
of  idolatry  and  corruption,  and  making  no  compromise 
with  them,  it  turned  the  vrorld  upside  down  wherever 
it  came.  Before  it,  the  heathen  oracles  were  dumb, 
and  the  fires  upon  their  altars  went  out. 

It  acted  as  an  invisible  and  secret  force  on  societ}", 
communing  with  men  upon  their  beds  by  night,  dis¬ 
suading  them  from  wuckedness,  seconding  the  voice  of 
conscience,  giving  both  distinctness  and  energy  to  its 


348  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

tones,  now  whispering,  and  now  speaking  with  a  voice 
that  made  the  stoutest  tremble,  of  righteousness,  tem¬ 
perance,  and  of  a  judgment  to  come. 

It  opened  heaven,  and  spoke  to  the  ear  of  hope. 

It  uncovered  that  world,  "where  their  worm  dieth 
not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched.” 

It  was  stern  in  its  rebukes  of  every  sin,  and  encour¬ 
aged  every  thing  that  was  "pure,  and  lovely,  and  of 
good  report.” 

Being  addressed  to  man  universally,  without  regard 
to  his  condition  or  his  nation,  it  paid  little  regard  to 
differences  of  language,  or  habits,  or  the  boundaries  of 
states. 

Persecution  was  aroused ;  it  kindled  its  fires,  it 
brought  forth  its  wild  beasts.  Blood  flowed  like  water, 
but  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  was  the  seed  of  the  church. 
No  external  force  could  avail  against  a  power  like  this. 
The  word  was  spoken,  and  it  could  not  be  recalled. 
The  hand  of  God  had  made  a  new  adjustment  in  the 
movement  of  the  moral  world,  and  the  hand  of  man 
could  not  put  it  back.  No  other  revolution  has  ever 
been  so  extensive  or  so  radical. 

Moving  on  directly  to  the  accomplishment  of  its  own 
more  immediate  and  higher  objects,  the  voice  of  Christ 
has  incidentally  caused,  not  only  moral,  but  social  and 
civil  revolutions. 

It  has  banished  idolatry  and  polytheism,  with  their 
inseparable  degradations,  and  pollutions,  and  cruelty. 
Human  sacrifices,  offered  by  our  own  ancestors,  by  the 
Greeks,  and  Romans,  and  Carthaginians,  and  the  ancient 
worshipers  of  Baal  and  Moloch,  —  offered  now  in  the 
islands  of  the  Pacific,  and  in  India,  and  in  Africa,  — 
cease  at  once  where  Christianity  comes.  It  was  before 
its  light  had  visited  this  continent,  that  seventy  thou¬ 
sand  human  beings  were  sacrificed  at  the  consecration  of 
a  single  temple.* 


*  Prescott’s  Mexico. 


EFFECTS  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


349 


It  has  banished  the  ancient  games,  in  which  men  slew 
each  other,  and  were  exposed  to  the  fury  of  wild  beasts, 
for  the  amusement  of  the  people. 

It  has  banished  slavery,  once  so  prevalent,  from 
Europe,  and  from  a  large  portion  of  this  continent. 

To  a  great  extent  it  has  put  an  end  to  the  exposure 
of  infants. 

It  has  elevated  woman,  and  given  her  the  place  in 
society  which  God  designed  she  should  occupy. 

By  putting  an  end  to  polygamy,  and  to  frequent 
divorces,  it  has  provided  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
domestic  and  natural  affections,  for  the  proper  training 
of  children,  and  for  all  the  unspeakable  blessings  con¬ 
nected  with  the  purity  and  peace,  and  mutual  love  and 
confidence,  of  Christian  families. 

It  has  so  elevated  the  general  standard  of  morality, 
that  unnatural  crimes,  and  the  grosser  forms  of  sensu¬ 
ality,  which  once  appeared  openly,  and  were  practiced 
and  defended  by  philosophers,  now  shrink  away  and 
hide  themselves  in  the  darkness. 

It  has  diminished  the  frequency  of  wars,  and  miti¬ 
gated  their  horrors. 

It  has  introduced  the  principle  of  general  benevo¬ 
lence,  unknown  before,  and  led  men  to  be  willing  to 
labor,  and  suffer,  and  give  their  property,  for  the  good 
of  those  whom  they  have  never  seen,  and  never  expect 
to  see  in  this  life. 

It  has  led  men  to  labor  for  the  welfare  of  the  soul, 
and,  in  connection  with  such  labors,  to  provide  for  the 
sufferings  and  for  the  physical  wants  of  the  poor ;  and 
it  is  found  that  these  two  go  hand  in  hand,  and  can  not 
be  separated. 

If  there  be  here  and  there  a  mistaken  zealot,  or  a 
Pharisaical  professor  of  Christianity,  who  would  seem 
to  be  zealous  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  men,  and  yet 
would  say  to  the  hungry  and  the  naked,  Be  ye  clothed 


350 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


and  be  ye  fed,  — at  the  same  time  giving  them  nothing 
to  supply  their  wants,  —  it  is  also  found,  not  only  that 
the  truest  regard  for  the  present  well-being  of  man  must 
manifest  itself  through  a  regard  for  his  spiritual  wants, 
but  also  that,  when  a  regard  to  those  wants  ceases,  the 
lower  charity  which  cares  for  the  body  will  decay  with 
it.  When  the  tree  begins  to  die  at  the  top,  where  the 
juices  are  elaborated  that  nourish  it,  it  will  die  down. 
Christianity  alone  has  built  hospitals  for  the  sick  and 
for  the  insane,  and  almshouses,  and  houses  of  refuge, 
and  provided  for  the  instruction  and  reformation  of  those 
confined  as  criminals.  Was  there  ever  anv  thins:  in  a 
heathen  land  like  what  is  to  be  seen  at  South  Boston  ? 
What  book  is  it  that  the  blind  are  taught  to  read  ?  If 
there  had  been  no  Bible,  and  no  such  estimate  of  the 
worth  of  man  as  that  contains,  can  any  one  believe  that 
the  great  work  of  printing  for  the  blind  would  have 
been  performed  ?  or  that  the  deaf  and  dumb  would  have 
been  so  provided  for?  When  I  recently  saw  those  blind 
children  so  instructed,  and  heard  them  sing,  —  when  I 
saw  thoughts  and  feelings  chasing  each  other  like  light 
and  shade  over  the  speaking  countenance  of  Laura 
Bridgman,  deaf,  and  dumb,  and  blind, — I  could  not 
but  feel,  though  the  ordinary  fountains  of  knowledge 
were  still  sealed  up,  yet  that  in  a  high  sense  it  might 
be  said  to  them  and  to  her,  as  Peter  said  to  Eneas, 
"Jesus  Christ  maketh  thee  whole.” 

Present  effects.  —  And  what  Christianity  has  hitherto 
done,  it  is  now  doing.  It  is  to  some  extent  embodying 
its  force  in  missionary  operations,  and  it  has  lost  none 
of  its  original  power.  Men  are  found  ready  to  take 
their  lives  in  their  hands,  to  forsake  their  country,  and 
friends,  and  children,  and  go  among  the  heathen,  for 
the  love  of  Jesus ;  and  it  is  found  that  the  same  simple 
preaching  of  the  cross,  that  was  mighty  of  old  to  the 
pulling  down  of  strongholds,  is  still  accompanied  with 


UNSEEN  EFFECTS POWER  INDICATED .  3  51 

a  divine  power;  and  nations  of  idolaters,  savages,  can¬ 
nibals,  infanticides,  are  seen  coming  up  out  of  the  night 
of  paganism,  and  taking  their  place  among  civilized, 
and  literary,  and  Christian  nations. 

But  indications  of  something  greater. — These,  and 
such  as  these,  are  the  public,  visible,  and  undeniable 
effects  of  Christianity,  uniformly  produced  in  any  com¬ 
munity  in  proportion  as  a  pure  Christianity  prevails. 
To  me,  however,  these  are  rather  indications  of  a  great 
work,  than  the  work  itself.  They  are  but  as  the  coral 
reef  that  appears  above  the  surface,  which  is  as  nothing 
to  the  deep  and  concealed  labors  of  the  little  ocean 
architect.  Like  that  architect  in  the  ocean,  Christianity 
begins  at  the  bottom  of  society,  and  works  up.  It 
never  acts  successfully  upon  the  faculties  of  man  as  an 
external  force.  It  must  act  through  these  faculties,  and 
hence  it  can  change  public  institutions  and  forms  of 
government,  and  produce  those  great  public  effects 
which  are  noticed,  only  as  it  changes  individuals.  How 
immense  the  work,  how  mighty  the  changes,  which  must 
have  been  wrought  in  individuals,  before  these  embodied 
and  public  effects  could  appear  !  Such  institutions  and 
effects  are  the  results  of  a  life,  a  vitality,  a  power;  and 
they  stand  as  the  indices  and  monuments  of  its  action. 
When  I  see  the  earth  covered  with  vegetation,  —  when 
I  see  a  vast  forest  standing  and  clothed  w  ’  m  the  green 
robes  of  summer,  —  I  know  there  must  have  been  an 
amazing  amount  of  elemental  action.  I  think  how  the 
atmosphere,  and  the  light,  and  the  moisture,  and  the 
earth  must  have  conspired  together,  and  how  the  prin¬ 
ciple  of  vegetable  life  must  have  lifted  up  the  mass, 
particle  by  particle,  till  at  length  it  had  formed  the 
sturdy  trunk,  and  set  his  "  coronal  ”  of  green  leaves 
upon  the  monarch  of  the  forest.  And  so,  when  I  see 
these  results,  these  institutions,  standing  in  their  fresh¬ 
ness  and  greenness,  —  when  I  see  the  moral  desert  bud- 


352 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


ding  and  blossoming,  —  I  know  there  must  have  been 
the  play  of  moral  life,  the  clear  shining  of  truth,  the 
movement  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  the  deep,  though, 
it  may  be,  silent  stragglings  of  the  spirit  of  man. 
Then  I  know  that  conscience  must  have  been  aroused, 
and  that  Jiere  has  been  the  anxious  questioning,  and 
the  earnest  struggle,  and  that  the  tear  of  penitence  has 
flowed,  and  that  the  secret  prayer  has  gone  up,  and  that 
songs  of  hope  and  salvation  have  taken  the  place  of  a 
sense  of  guilt  and  of  anxious  fear.  Then  I  know  that 
there  have  been  holy  lives  and  happy  deaths.  Such 
changes  in  individuals,  and  such  results,  who  that  lives 
in  these  days  has  not  seen  ?  Such  changes  and  results 
it  is  the  great  object  of  Christianity  to  produce.  When 
it  shall  produce  these  changes  fully  upon  all,  fitting 
them  for  heaven,  then,  and  not  till  then,  will  its  ten¬ 
dencies  be  fully  carried  out.  Then  will  every  thing 
wrong  in  the  constitution  and  relations  of  society  be 
displaced,  and  without  violence,  as  the  organization  of 
the  chrysalis  is  displaced  by  that  of  the  bright  and 
winged  being  that  is  infolded  within  it,  and  society 
shall  come  forth  in  its  perfect  state.  Then  shall  the 
will  of  God  be  done  ;  and  this  earth,  so  long  tempest- 
tossed,  like  a  clear  and  peaceful  lake,  shall  reflect  the 
image  of  heaven. 

Summary  and  conclusion. — Thus,  as  well  as  I  was 
able  under  a  severe  pressure  of  other  duties,  with  a 
sincere  desire  to  promote  the  views  of  the  munificent 
founder  of  these  courses  of  Lectures,  and  I  trust  with 
some  sense  of  my  responsibility  to  God,  have  I  pre¬ 
sented,  separately,  such  arguments  as  the  time  would 
permit  for  the  truth  of  Christianity ;  but,  if  we  would 
see  the  proof  in  all  its  strength,  we  must  look  at  these 
arguments  in  their  united  force.  We  know  that  an 
argument  may  be  framed  from  separate  circumstances, 


SUMMARY. 


353 


each  of  which  may  have  little  weight,  while  the  force 
of  the  whole  combined  shall  amount  to  a  moral  demon¬ 
stration.  It  is  in  this  way  that  some  of  the  separate 
arguments  for  Christianity  are  constructed ;  but  it  is 
not  thus  that  we  present  these  separate  arguments  as 
conspiring  together.  We  claim  that  there  are  for  Chris¬ 
tianity  many  separate  infallible  proofs,  each  of  which  is 
sufficient  of  itself ;  but  still,  the  general  impression 
upon  the  mind  may  be  increased  when  they  are  seen 
together.  We  claim  that  the  proofs  for  the  religion  of 
Christ  are  like  those  for  his  resurrection  given  through 
the  different  senses  of  the  disciples.  Some  believed 
when  they  merely  saw  him ;  some  believed  when  they 
saw  him  and  heard  his  voice.  Each  of  these  was  a  sep¬ 
arate  and  adequate  proof ;  but  Thomas  thought  it  neces¬ 
sary,  not  only  that  he  should  see  and  hear  him,  but  that 
he  should  put  his  linger  into  the  prints  of  the  nails,  and 
thrust  his  hand  into  his  side.  Christ  did  not  ask  his 
disciples  to  believe  without  proof  then ;  he  does  not 
now.  He  has  provided  that  which  must  satisfy,  if  he 
be  only  fair-minded,  even  an  unbelieving  Thomas  ;  and 
this  proof,  as  it  comes  in  from  very  various  and  inde¬ 
pendent  sources,  is  adapted  to  every  mind. 

We  have  seen  that  there  was  nothing  in  the  nature 
of  the  evidence,  or  in  any  conflict  of  the  evidence  of 
testimony  and  of  experience,  to  prevent  our  attaining 
certainty  on  this  subject. 

We  have  seen  that  there  was  no  previous  improba¬ 
bility  that  a  Father  should  speak  to  his  own  child, 
benighted  and  lost ;  or  that  he  should  give  him  the 
evidence  of  miracles  that  he  did  thus  speak. 

We  have  heard  the  voice  of  Nature  recognizing,  by 
her  analogies,  the  affinities  of  the  Christian  religion 
with  her  mysterious  and  complex  arrangements  and 
mighty  movements. 

We  have  seen  the  perfect  coincidence  of  the  teachings 


354 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


of  natural  religion  with  those  of  Christianity  ;  and,  when 
Christianity  has  transcended  the  limits  of  natural  reli¬ 
gion,  we  have  seen  that  its  teachings  were  still  in  keep¬ 
ing  with  hers,  as  the  revelations  of  the  telescope  are 
with  those  of  the  naked  eye. 

We  have  seen  that  this  religion  is  adapted  to  the 
conscience,  as  it  meets  all  its  wants  as  a  perceiving 
power,  by  establishing  a  perfect  standard. 

We  have  seen  that,  though  morality  was  not  the  great 
object  of  the  gospel,  yet  that  there  must  spring  up,  in 
connection  with  a  full  reception  of  its  doctrines,  a  mo¬ 
rality  that  is  perfect. 

We  have  seen  that  it  is  adapted  to  the  intellect,  to 
the  affections,  to  the  imagination,  to  the  conscience  as 
quickening  and  improving  it,  and  to  the  will. 

That,  as  a  restraining  power,  it  places  its  checks  pre¬ 
cisely  where  it  ought,  and  in  the  wisest  way ;  so  that, 
as  a  system  of  excitement,  of  guidance,  and  of  restraint, 
it  is  all  that  is  needed  to  carry  human  nature  to  its 
highest  point  of  perfection. 

We  have  seen  that  it  gives  to  him  who  practices  it  a 
witness  within  himself. 

That  it  is  fitted,  and  tends,  to  become  universal. 

That  it  may  be  traced  back  to  the  beginning  of 
time. 

Such  a  religion  as  this,  whether  we  consider  its 
scheme,  or  the  circumstances  of  its  origin,  or  its  records 
in  their  simplicity  and  harmony,  we  have  seen  could 
no  more  have  been  originated  by  man  than  could  the 
ocean. 

We  have  seen  the  lowly  circumstances,  the  unprece¬ 
dented  claims,  and  the  wonderful  character,  of  our 
Saviour. 

Around  this  religion,  thus  substantiated,  we  have  seen 
every  possible  form  of  external  evidence  array  itself. 

We  have  seen  the  authenticity  of  its  bocks  substan- 


SUMMARY. 


355 


tiated  by  every  species  of  proof,  both  external  and 
internal. 

We  have  seen  that  its  facts  and  miracles  were  such 
that  men  could  not  be  mistaken  respecting  them,  and 
that  the  reality  of  those  facts  was  not  only  attested,  on 
the  part  of  the  original  witnesses,  by  martyrdom,  but 
that  it  is  implied  in  institutions  and  observances  now 
existing,  and  is  the  only  rational  account  that  can  be 
given  of  the  great  fact  of  Christendom. 

We  have  seen,  also,  that  the  accounts  given  by  our 
books  are  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  numerous 
Jewish  and  heathen  writers. 

And  not  only  have  we  seen  that  miracles  were  wrought  , 
and  that  the  great  facts  of  Christianity  are  fully  attested 
by  direct  evidence,  but  we  have  heard  the  voice  of 
prophecy  heralding  the  approach  of  Him  who  came 
traveling  in  the  greatness  of  his  strength,  and  saying, 
"Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord.” 

We  have  seen  this  religion,  cast  like  leaven  into  soci- 
ety,  go  on  working  by  its  mysterious  but  irresistible 
agency,  transforming  the  corrupt  mass. 

We  have  seen  it  taking  the  lead  among  those  influ¬ 
ences  by  which  the  destiny  of  the  world  is  controlled, 
so  that  the  stone  which  was  cut  out  without  hands  has 
become  a  great  mountain. 

And  finally,  we  have  seen  its  blessed  effects,  and  its 
tendency  to  fill  the  earth  with  righteousness  and  peace. 

United  testimony .  —  These  things  we  have  seen  sep¬ 
arately  ;  and  now,  when  we  look  at  them  as  they  stand 
up  together  and  give  in  their  united  testimony,  do  they 
not  produce,  ought  they  not  to  produce,  a  full,  a  per¬ 
fect,  and  abiding  conviction  of  the  truth  of  this  religion? 
If  such  evidence  as  this  can  mislead  us,  have  we  not 
reason  to  believe  that  the  universe  itself  is  constituted 
on  the  principle  of  deception  ? 

Certainty.  — May  I  not  hope,  then,  that  as  we  have 


356 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


thus  gone  together  about  our  Zion,  some  of  you.  at 
least,  have  felt  that  her  towers  are  impregnable,  — that 

“Walls  of  strength  embrace  her  round”? 


May  I  not  hope  that  you  have  been  led  so  to  see  the 
certainty  of  those  things  in  which  you  have  been  in¬ 
structed,  as  to  gain  strength  in  your  own  moral  conflicts, 
and  to  tread  with  a  firmer  step,  and  gird  yourselves  for 
higher  exertion,  in  spreading  this  blessed  religion  over 
the  world?  If  so,  I  have  my  reward. 


SUPPLEMENT. 

RECENT  ATTACKS.— ANCIENT  MANUSCRIPTS.— EXCLUSIVE  TRAITS 

OF  CHRISTIANITY. —THE  CLAIM  OF  JESUS  TO  BE  THE  MES¬ 
SIAH. 

It  is  now  thirty-three  years  since  the  preceding' 
lectures  were  published.  Since  that  time  there  has 
been  incessant  activity,  both  in  attacking  and  defend¬ 
ing  the  Christian  Evidences,  and  it  seems  due  to  those 
who  study  the  lectures,  that  some  reference  should  be 
made  to  what  has  been  done. 

ATTACKS  OF  THE  CRITICAL  SCHOOL. 

Strauss.  —  The  mythical  theory.  —  The  most  notable 
attack  that  has  claimed  to  have  any  thing  new,  has 
been  from  what  is  called  the  Critical  School.  This 
school  became  prominent  in  Germany,  on  the  publica¬ 
tion,  in  1835,  of  the  “Life  of  Jesus,”  by  Strauss,  in 
which  he  sought  to  establish  the  mythical  theory.  The 
narratives  of  the  New  Testament  he  placed  on  the 
same  basis  as  the  myths  respecting  the  heathen  gods. 
Denying  miracles,  he  regarded  the  character  of  Christ 
as  the  result  of  the  Messianic  ideas  of  the  Jews,  em¬ 
bodied  without  conscious  fraud  in  the  Gospel  narratives. 
That  there  might  be  time  for  such  myths  to  arise,  he 
undertook  to  show  by  criticism  that  the  Gospels  were 
not  written  till  near  the  close  of  the  second  century. 

Baur.  —  Conscious  deception.  —  Strauss  was  followed 
by  Baur,  a  professor  in  the  University  of  Tubingen, 


X 


(357) 


358 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


and  by  the  Tubingen  School.  This  school  is  identical 
with  that  of  Strauss,  as  rejecting  miracles  and  relying 
upon  “criticism;”  but  attributes  less  to  the  mythical 
theory,  and  more  to  collusion  and  fraud.  Hence,  as 
willing  to  avoid  the  difficulties  encountered  by  Strauss, 
in  assigning  the  Gospels  to  so  late  a  date,  they  place 
them  earlier. 

Renan. — Legendary  theory. — Following  the  Tubingen 
School,  relying  on  the  same  weapon,  and  also  rejecting 
miracles,  came  Kenan.  His  “Life  of  Jesus”  had  an 
extraordinary  popularity,  due  in  part  to  its  style,  and, 
in  part,  to  its  falling  in  with  the  general  skeptical 
tendency  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  He  is  more 
ready  than  his  predecessors  to  assign  the  usual  dates  to 
the  writings  of  the  New  Testament,  but  adopts,  so  far 
as  there  is  a  difference,  the  legendary,  rather  than  the 
mythical  theory.  His  work  is  lively,  sentimental,  and 
has  been  well  said  to  be  a  novel  rather  than  a  biogra¬ 
phy.  He  speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of  Jesus,  yet 
thinks  he  had  weaknesses,  and  imputes  to  him  conscious 
deception. 

In  connection  with  these  leaders  was  a  large  number 
of  others  of  the  same  general  school,  as  Schenkel,  Keim, 
Schwegler,  Hilgenfeld  and  others. 

Of  this  attack  of  the  Critical  School,  taken  as  a 
whole,  it  may  be  observed :  — 

The  old  assault  in  different  form. — First,  That  it  is 
really  a  continuation  of  the  deistical  attack  of  the  last 
century.  It  is  so,  because  its  criticism  is  mainly  in  the 
interest  of  a  denial  of  the  supernatural  generally,  and 
of  the  miracles  of  the  New  Testament  in  particular. 
These  miracles,  the  writers  of  this  school  set  aside  at 
the  outset.  They  assume  that  they  are  “unhistorical.” 
Thus,  Strauss,  as  quoted  by  Prof.  Christlieb,  says,  “We 
now  know  for  certain,  at  least  what  Jesus  was  not,  and 
did  not  do,  viz.,  nothing  superhuman  or  supernatural.” 


THIS  CRITICS  SELF-CONDEMNED  AND  DISCORDANT.  359 


Baur,  speaking  of  history,  says,  “  Its  task  is  to  investi¬ 
gate  what  has  happened  in  the  connection  of  its  causes 
and  effects ;  but  the  miraculous,  in  its  absolute  sense, 
destroys  the  natural  connection.”  Renan,  too,  in  his 
essay  on  “The  Critical  Historians  of  Jesus,”  says, 
“Criticism  has  two  modes  of  attacking  a  marvellous 
narrative,  for  as  to  accepting  it  as  it  stands,  it  cannot 
think  of  it,  since  its  essence  is  denial  of  the  super¬ 
natural.”  In  his  introduction  to  “  The  Life  of  Jesus,” 
he  says,  “  Till  we  have  new  light  we  shall  maintain  this 
principle  of  historical  criticism,  that  a  supernatural 
relation  cannot  be  accepted  as  such ;  that  it  always 
implies  credulity  or  imposture.”  And  these  are  the 
men  who  claim  impartiality  in  the  criticism  of  works, 
a  prominent  feature  of  which  is  the  narration  of  miracu¬ 
lous  events  !  It  seems  like  judicial  blindness  that  they 
should  thus  proclaim  their  own  unfitness  for  the  work 
they  undertook. 

disagreement  of  the  critics  among  themselves.  —  It  is  to 
be  observed  second,  That  these  witnesses  against  Christ 
no  more  agree  among  themselves  than  did  those  at  his 
trial  before  the  High  Priest.  The  original  theory  of 
Strauss  was  that  of  myths  unconsciously  growing  up. 
That  of  Baur  was  invention  for  a  purpose.  These  are 
incompatible  theories,  and  both  have  ceased  to  attract 
attention  in  the  land  of  their  birth.  “  The  number  of 
those,”  says  Prof.  Christlieb,  “who  represent  Baur's 
theory,  whole  and  entire,  is,  at  least  among  German 
theologians,  very  small.  In  Tubingen,  there  is  now  no 
longer  any  Tubingen  School.” 

Henan  s  theory  also  incompatible  with  that  of  Strauss. 
Renan  adopts  the  legendary  theory.  He  says,  “I 
should  prefer  the  words  legend,  and  legendary  narra¬ 
tives,  which,  while  they  concede  a  large  influence  to 
the  working  of  opinion,  allow  the  action  and  the 
personal  character  of  Jesus  to  stand  out  in  their  com' 


360 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


pleteness/'*  Again,  lie  says,  “Legend,  and  not  myth, 
is  the  proper  word  for  the  stories  of  the  earliest 
Christian  period.”  Adopting  this  theory,  he  assigned, 
as  the  theory  of  Strauss  did  not  permit  him  to  do,  an 
early  origin  to  the  Gospel  narratives.  In  his  intro¬ 
duction  to  the  “  Life  of  Jesus,”  he  says,  “Upon  the 
whole,  I  accept  the  four  canonical  Gospels  as  authentic. 
All,  in  my  judgment,  date  back  to  the  first  century, 
and  they  are  substantially  by  the  authors  to  whom  they 
are  attributed,  but  in  historic  value  they  are  very  un¬ 
equal.”  Of  the  Gospel  by  John,  so  much  called  in 
question  of  late,  he  says  in  the  same  introduction:  “But 
that  in  substance,  this  Gospel  issued  towards  the  end 
of  the  first  century  from  the  great  school  of  Asia  Minor, 
which  held  to  J ohn  ;  that  it  presents  to  us  a  version  of 
the  Master’s  life,  worthy  of  high  consideration,  and 
often  of  preference,  is  demonstrated  by  external  evi¬ 
dence  and  by  an  examination  of  the  document  itself,  in 
a  manner  to  leave  nothing  to  be  desired.”  How  incom¬ 
patible  Renan  himself  regards  this  with  the  view  of 
Strauss,  will  be  seen  from  his  saying,  “  It  is  a  capital 
point  in  his  [Strauss’s]  theory,  that  our  four  Gospels 
cannot,  in  their  actual  form,  be  assigned  to  an  earlier 
period  than  the  end  of  the  second  century.”!  He  also 
says  of  Strauss,  that  he  “  lacks  all  feeling  for  history 
and  fact,  and  never  leaves  the  questions  of  myth  and 
symbol.”]:  It  is  thus  that  while  these  men  taken 
singly,  might  be  regarded  as  formidable,  they  cease  to 
be  so  when  taken  together. 

Seeing  thus  the  avowed  unfitness  of  these  men  for 
their  work,  and  the  incompatibility  of  their  theories, 
we  turn  to  the  theories  themselves. 

The  real  objection .  —  As  intimated  above,  the  real 
objection  is  in  the  fact  that  the  Gospel  narratives  affirm 
miracles.  With  a  certain  class  of  scientists,  this  has 

*  Religious  History  and  Criticism,  p.  180.  t  Ibid.  p.  194.  $  Ibid.  p.  1ST. 


DOGMATISM  OF  THE  CRITICS. 


361 


become  more  and  more  an  offence,  but  no  theological 
dogmatism  ever  exceeded  that  which  assumes  a  priori 
that  miracles  are  to  be  regarded  as  “  unhistorical,”  that 

is,  that  they  cannot  constitute  a  part  of  a  true  history. 
To  say  that,  is  to  beg  the  whole  question.  Perhaps 
there  never  was  a  more  flagrant  instance  of  the  ten¬ 
dency  of  the  human  mind  to  pass  from  one  extreme  to 
its  opposite.  Constantly  referring  us  to  the  tendency 
in  former  times  to  regard  as  miraculous,  events  that  we 
now  refer  to  natural  causes,  and  disregarding  the  truth 
that  no  natural  tendency  ever  wholly  misleads  us,  these 
men  go,  with  a  weakness  quite  equal  to  that  which  they 
despise,  to  the  opposite  extreme.  If  it  may  be  said, 
looking  at  nature  alone,  that  there  is  a  presumption 
against  miracles,  yet,  as  was  shown  in  the  second  lec¬ 
ture,  looking  at  nature  in  relation  to  man  in  his  present 
condition,  the  presumption  would  be  in  their  favor. 

Miracles  essential ,  but  of  only  relative  importance.  —  In 
themselves,  miracles  are  of  little  importance.  The  one 
important  thing  is  the  personality  of  God,  and  miracles 
are  important  as  the  only  means  of  showing  that.  In 
fact,  any  manifestation  of  God  as  personal,  is  substan¬ 
tially  a  miracle.  Revelation  is  itself  miraculous,  and 
hence  miracles  are  not  incidental,  or  needed  simply  as 
evidence.  They  enter  in  as  a  part  of  the  system.  Take 
from  Christianity  the  miraculous  element  and  it  would 
not  be  a  religion.  In  the  view  of  a  science  that  knows 
of  nothing  above  nature,  and  so  can  explain  nothing,  a 
miracle  must  seem  impossible ;  but,  viewing  nature  as 
the  theatre  of  a  moral  government,  and  subordinate  to 

it,  miracles  might  be  anticipated  if  the  exigencies  of 
that  government  should  demand  them. 

The  question  one  of  fact  and  evidence. —  The  question 
would  then  be,  and  is,  simply  one  of  fact  and  of  evi¬ 
dence.  Did  Christ  rise  from  the  dead?  If  He  did,  to 
say  that  that  fact  would  be  incapable  of  proof,  would 


362 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


be  to  impute  an  imbecility  to  the  human  faculties,  that 
would  render  any  event  incapable  of  proof.  Of  the 
actual  proof,  each  one  must  judge  for  himself ;  but  let 
the  evidence  be  fairly  weighed. 

Having  thus  placed  the  subject  of  miracles  on  what 
we  regard  as  its  true  basis,  the  special  theories  of  the 
Critical  School,  the  mythical,  the  legendary,  and  the 
theory  of  conscious  deception,  will  hardly  call  for  sep¬ 
arate  consideration,  but  some  general  remarks  may  be 
made. 

Christianity  before  the  New  Testament. — And  Hirst, 
aside  from  the  question  of  miracles,  which  is  a  question 
of  fact  with  which  criticism  has  properly  nothing  to  do, 
the  relative  importance  of  the  questions  treated  of  by 
the  Critical  School  has  been  exaggerated.  Criticism  at¬ 
tacks  a  book,  but  Christianity  was  before  the  book.  As 
a  system  of  salvation,  it  was  as  complete  when  Peter 
preached  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  when  not  a  line 
of  the  New  Testament  had  been  written,  as  it  is  now. 
Christ,  himself,  in  his  person,  and  character,  and  teach¬ 
ing,  and  work,  was  the  revelation.  He  was  not  a  book, 
but  a  personal  being,  and  revealed  by  direct  manifesta¬ 
tion  the  moral  attributes  of  God,  as  nature  reveals  his 
natural  attributes.  He  not  only  made  statements  that 
could  be  put  into  a  book,  but  wrought  miracles,  brought 
in  new  adjustments,  rose  from  the  dead,  and  established 
a  Kingdom.  In  all  this,  Christ  and  Christianity  are  as 
much  apart  from  a  book  as  nature  is  from  a  treatise  on 
physical  science.  Let  the  book,  therefore,  but  estab¬ 
lish  those  facts  respecting  Christ,  which  must  be  admit¬ 
ted  if  history  is  to  be  credited  at  all,  and  the  evidence 
for  Christianity  itself,  as  involved  in  the  great  fact  of 
the  resurrection  of  Christ,  will  remain  unimpaired  how¬ 
ever  the  minor  questions  of  criticism  may  be  decided. 
In  regard  to  authorship,  and  the  original  language  of 
the  books,  and  the  time  of  their  composition,  and  their 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL  NARRATIVES. 


363 


verbal  accuracy,  and  inspiration  itself  in  its  mode  and 
degree,  there  is  room  for  diversity  of  opinion,  without 
touching  the  evidence  for  the  fact  that  “  God  was  in 
Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself.” 

Christ  known  aside  from  the  Bible . —  Is  it  said  that 
the  parallel  between  nature  and  Christianity,  referred  to 
above,  fails  because  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with 
nature,  but  know  Christ  only  through  the  book?  The 
reply  is,  that  he  was  not  originally  known  through 
the  book,  and,  that  knowing  him  thus  we  also  know 
him  otherwise.  We  know  him  as  the  mightiest  moral 
force  the  world  has  known ;  as  the  originator  of  the 
only  civilization  that  promises  to  be  permanent ;  as  the 
founder  of  a  church  that  constantly  celebrates  hi3 
death  and  waits  for  his  coming;  as  still  the  object  of 
determined  hostility,  and,  if  we  may  accept  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  millions  of  intelligent  and  cultivated  people, 
as  meeting  the  deepest  wants  of  our  spiritual  nature. 

Character  of  the  Gospel  narratives. — -But  second.  The 
Gospel  narratives  convey,  as  perfectly  as  narratives  can, 
a  sense  of  reality.  They  are  simply  narratives,  with 
no  expression  of  opinion  or  personal  feeling  on  the  part 
of  the  narrators.  Not  one  of  them  applies  a  single  epi¬ 
thet  to  express  his  own  views  or  feelings.  There  is 
that  on  the  face  of  narratives  thus  colorless,  which  com¬ 
mends  itself  to  us  like  the  openness  of  a  countenance 
which  we  feel  cannot  deceive  us. 

Characteristics  of  the  Christian  Bra.  —  Third.  The 
period  was  not  favorable  to  the  formation  of  myths. 
It  was  the  most  enlightened  period  of  the  world  up 
to  that  time.  Its  spirit  was  critical  and  skeptical. 

Character ,  method  and  object  of  Christ  not  accounted 
for. — Fourth.  No  theory  of  the  Critical  School  at  all 
accounts  for  the  character  of  Christ  in  connection  with 
his  method  and  object.  Taken  together,  they  form  the 
grandest  conception  of  the  ages,  while  the  Messianic 


364 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


ideas  of  the  Jews  were  in  utter  contrast  to  each  idea 
separately,  and  to  the  whole  taken  together. 

Nor  his  teachings ,  nor  those  of  the  Apostles . —  Fifth. 
Nor  can  any  such  theory  account  for  the  sermon  on  the 
mount;  or  for  the  perfect  morality  of  the  Christian 
system ;  or  for  the  weighty  character  of  the  Apostolical 
writings.  It  is  a  marvel  that  four  men  who  had  been 
with  Christ,  —  Matthew,  Peter,  James  and  John,  one  a 
collector  of  taxes,  and  three  fishermen,  should  have  so 
written,  as  to  call  forth  more  comment,  and  exert  a 
wider  influence,  than  any  equal  number  of  writers  in 
classical  antiquity. 

Nor  the  closing  scenes  of  his  life. — Sixth.  No  maker  of 
myths  or  legends,  no  one  proposing  deception,  could 
have  invented  the  scene  in  Gethsemane,  or  that  of  the 
crucifixion. 

Nor  the  results  of  his  work. — Seventh.  It  is  not 
rational  to  suppose  that  Christendom,  the  exponent  of 
the  greatest  revolution  known  in  history,  a  revolution 
not  by  force,  but  in  the  convictions  and  hopes  of  men, 
and  in  their  social  organizations  and  customs,  a  revo¬ 
lution  commending  itself  most  fully  to  those  most 
enlightened,  should  have  originated  in  myths  and 
legends  and  deception. 

NEW  EVIDENCES. 

But  as  there  has  been  activity  in  attacking  the  Chris¬ 
tian  evidences,  so  has  there  been  in  their  defence ;  and 
now,  as  of  old,  it  may  be  said  that  “the  things  that 
have  happened,  have  fallen  out  rather  to  the  further¬ 
ance  of  the  Gospel.”  As  was  to  be  expected  if  the 
narratives  were  true,  critical  investigation  has  brought 
new  evidence  to  light,  and  obviated  difficulties.* 

From  ancient  ruins.  —  And  first,  new  evidence  has 
come  from  the  exploration  of  ancient  ruins.  This  is  not 

*  See  a  lecture  by  Prof.  Thayer.  Boston  Lectures,  1871. 


NEW  EVIDENCE  FROM  ANCIENT  RUINS. 


385 


strictly  critical  investigation,  but  is  so  allied  to  it  that  it 
may  be  mentioned.  Such  explorations  have  uniformly 
confirmed  the  sacred  records,  but  more  frequently  those 
of  the  Old  Testament.  As  bearing  on  those  of  the  New 
Testament,  two  recent  instances  may  be  mentioned. 

Sergius  Paulus ,  Proconsul  of  Cyprus.  —  The  first  re¬ 
spects  the  statement  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  Acts, 
that  Sergius  Paulus  was  Proconsul  (in  our  version, 
deputy)  of  Cyprus.  This  had  long  been  questioned  on 
the  authority  of  Strabo,  who  said  that  Cyprus  was 
governed  by  a  Propraetor,  (a  Propraetor  being  an  officer 
appointed  by  the  Emperor,  and  a  Proconsul  by  the 
Senate.)  Of  this  difficulty,  various  solutions  had  been 
given  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  Grotius;  but  none  of 
them  satisfactory.  It  now  appears  that,  from  the 
exigency  of  military  service,  the  Emperor  and  Senate 
sometimes  interchanged  provinces,  and  in  this  particular 
case,  all  doubt  is  removed  by  an  inscription  discovered 
by  Gen.  Di  Cesnola,  which  is  of  that  date,  and  which 
designates  one  Paulus  as  Proconsul.  Whether  this 
Paulus  was  the  Sergius  Paulus  of  the  Acts,  is  of  little 
moment.  As  one  name  was  often  omitted  in  inscrip¬ 
tions,  there  is  good  reason  for  supposing  that  he  was.* 

Ephesus.  —  The  second  example  is  from  the  ruins  of 
ancient  Ephesus,  explored  by  Mr.  Wood.  He  discov¬ 
ered  the  theatre  in  which  the  uproar  mentioned  in  the 
nineteenth  chapter  of  Acts  occurred,  and  also  several 
inscriptions  indicating  that  Diana  was  the  tutelary 
goddess  of  the  city.  Among  these  is  one  containing 
the  very  wordf  QNecoxogof)  used  according  to  Luke,  by 

*  Cyprus  by  Gen.  Di  Cesnola,  page  229. 

t  An  English  writer,  also,  Mr.  Thomas  L.  Donaldson,  in  a  work  on  the  Archi¬ 
tectural  Medals  of  classic  antiquity,  entitled  Architectura  Numismatica, 
(page  132,)  refers  to  the  use  of  this  word  as  forming  ts  a  curious,  undesigned 
coincidence  in  proof  of  the  authenticity  of  the  sacred  Scriptures. ”  It  is,  he  says, 
“  rarely  met  with  in  ancient  authors,  and  then  only  in  a  casual  way,”  but  the 
word  is  applied  by  Xenophon,  (Exp.  v.  3,  6,1  to  an  officer  of  Artemis  [or  Diana] 
at  Ephesus,  and  is  found  on  several  medals  now  in  the  British  Museum,  bearing 
views  of  the  temple  of  Diana  in  that  city,  of  which  he  gives  engravings. 


366 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


the  town  clerk,  in  speaking  of  the  city  of  Ephesus,  as 
a  worshiper  of  the  great  goddess  Diana. 

Manuscripts.  —  New  evidence  has  also  come  from  an¬ 
cient  manuscripts. 

The  Codex  Sinaiticus.  —  And  first,  we  have  the  Codex 
Sinaiticus,  discovered  by  Tischendorf  in  the  convent  of 
St.  Catharine,  on  Mt.  Sinai,  in  1859.  This  contains 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments  —  the  New  complete,  and 
also  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas  complete,  with  a  part  of 
the  Shepherd  of  Hermas.  For  antiquity  and  complete¬ 
ness,  this  version  has  the  first  place.  It  is  supposed  to 
be  of  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century.  Of  this,  a 
magnificent  edition  was  published  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  A  fac-simile  of  it  is  in  the 
Library  of  Congress  at  Washington,  and  no  one  can 
look  at  the  perfection  of  every  letter  without  a  convic¬ 
tion  of  the  esteem  and  even -sacredness  in  which  the 
books  were  then  held.  Besides,  the  Epistle  of  Barna¬ 
bas,  which  must  have  been  at  least  a  century  and  a  half 
older  than  this  copy,  refers  to  the  Gospel  of  Matthew, 
as  of  equal  authority  with  the  ancient  Scriptures. 

Muratori.—  We  have  second,  Muratori’s  fragment  on 
the  canon,  found  in  the  Ambrosian  Library,  at  Milan. 
This  is  the  earliest  catalogue  of  the  New  Testament 
books  known  to  us,  dating  back  to  about  A.  D.  175,  and 
contains  twenty-three  books  out  of  the  twenty-seven. f 

Ancient  skeptical  writers.  —  Besides  these,  various 
skeptical  writings  have  been  discovered,  all  tending  to 
carry  the  authorship  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  back  to  the  period  usually  assigned  to  them,  and 
going  to  show  that  within  less  than  a  hundred  years 
after  the  death  of  Christ,  those  books  were  generally 
received  as  of  the  same  authority  as  the  Old  Testament. 
All  this,  we  hold,  can  be  accounted  for  only  on  the 
supposition  of  the  authenticity  of  the  books. 

t  See  Westcott  on  the  Canon. 


ITS  ORIGIN  IN  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD. 


367 


EXCLUSIVE  TEAITS  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 

We  now  pass  to  another  point.  Since  the  lectures 
were  published,  Christianity  has  been  attacked  as  never 
before,  by  attempts  to  place  other  religions,  if  not  on  an 
equality  with  it,  yet  on  the  same  plane. 

As,  therefore,  it  claims  to  be  not  only  a  religion,  but 
the  religion,  and  as  its  superiority  is  one  evidence  of  its 
divinity,  it  has  been  thought  well  to  bring  together 
some  of  its  exclusive  traits.  This  was  done  by  me  in 
one  of  the  “Boston  Lectures”  for  1871,  and  the  points 
there  dwelt  upon,  may  be  briefly  stated  here. 

Its  origin  in  the  Love  of  God ,  and  in  a  system  super¬ 
seded  yet  acknowledged  as  divine . — First,  then,  it 
belongs  exclusively  to  Christianity,  that  it  had  its 
origin  in  the  Love  of  God.  “  God  so  loved  the  world, 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
belie veth  on  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life.”  Here  we  have  Christianity  in  its  origin  and  result. 
Also,  if  we  look  at  Christianity  as  distinguished  from 
Judaism,  it  belongs  exclusively  to  it,  that  it  grew  out 
of  a  system  which  it  set  aside,  at  the  same  time  that  it 
acknowledged  it  to  be  divine. 

Love  its  essence.  —  But  second,  having  its  origin  in 
the  love  of  God,  it  belongs  exclusively  to  Christianity 
that  its  essence  is  Love.  As  a  religion,  its  essence  is 
love  to  God,  but  from  this  necessarily  flows  love  to 
man,  and  thus  the  religion  and  the  morality  of  the 
system,  the  only  perfect  morality,  have  their  root  in  the 
same  principle.  This  is  the  more  worthy  of  notice 
since  in  other  systems  the  religion  either  has  no  connec¬ 
tion  with  morality,  or  is  the  means  of  its  corruption. 
Theoretically,  a  perfect  morality  growing  out  of  a 
spiritual  religion  and  having  its  sanctions,  is  all  that  can 
be  asked  for.  That  we  have  in  Christianity.  What 
the  world  waits  for  is  that  such  a  religion  and  morality 
should  be  exemplified  in  the  life. 


368 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Its  proposed  end.  —  Third.  The  end  proposed  by 
Christianity  belongs  exclusively  to  it.  This  end  is  com¬ 
plex.  It  is  so  as  consisting  of  inter-dependent  parts. 

These  are,  the  perfection  of  the  individual,  the  per¬ 
fection  of  society,  and  the  glory  of  God ;  and  this  is 
their  natural  order.  These  several  parts  of  the  one 
complex  end  Christianity  proposes;  it  provides  for  their 
attainment,  and  if  they  can  be  attained,  each  in  its 
order,  it  will  leave  nothing  to  be  desired. 

Conditioned  on  sin.  —  F ourth.  It  is  an  exclusive 
trait  of  Christianity  that  it  recognizes  sin,  in  distinction 
from  crime ,  as  the  radical  evil  of  this  world,  and  that 
it  is  a  remedial  system  wholly  conditioned  on  that. 
“As  such,  it  is  neither  the  product  of  the  religious 
nature,  putting  out  its  tendrils  and  uttering  elevated 
sentiments  and  high  aspirations,  nor  a  blind  and  pas¬ 
sionate  expression  of  a  sense  of  guilt  through  self- 
torture  and  the  sacrifice  of  the  natural  affections ;  but 
it  is  a  broad  solution,  in  clear  vision,  of  the  great  prob¬ 
lems  of  life,  as  they  are  connected  with  the  existence  of 
evil,  and  a  persistent  and  practical  attempt,  continued 
from  the  beginning,  to  remove  them.” 

Its  method.  —  Fifth.  The  method  of  Christianity  is 
exclusively  its  own.  Its  method  is  to  secure  the  love 
and  obedience  of  man  towards  God,  by  favor  first  shown 
on  God’s  part,  rather  than  to  secure  the  favor  of  God 
by  service  first  done  on  man’s  part.  This  reverses  the 
method  of  all  other  religions,  and  lays  the  foundation 
for  a  free  salvation  accepted  by  faith. 

Its  adaptations.  —  Sixth.  It  is  an  exclusive  trait  of 
Christianity  that  it  is  adapted  to  universal  diffusion  and 
dominion,  that  it  has  looked  forward  to  that  from  the 
beginning,  and  has  organized  a  body,  both  of  men  and 
women,  pledged  to  carry  it  out  to  that  result. 

The  means  relied  on.  —  Seventh.  It  is  a  peculiarity 
of  the  religion  as  spiritual,  that  it  must  rely  wholly  on 


THE  TESTIMONY  OF  JESUS. 


369 


moral  and  spiritual  means.  Nominal  Christianity  may 
be  promoted  otherwise,  but  the  religion  itself,  in  its 
essence,  cannot  be. 

Its  Founder.  —  Eighth.  It  belongs  exclusively  to 
Christianity  to  have  such  a  Founder.  Suffice  it  to  say, 
that  we  have  in  him  the  fullest  revelation  that  God 
has  made  of  himself,  —  “the  brightness  of  his  glory 
and  the  express  image  of  his  person.” 

THE  TESTIMONY  OF  JESUS  ON  HIS  TRIAL. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  I  ask  attention  to  a  single 
further  point  in  the  exhaustless  subject  of  internal 
evidence.  It  respects  the  testimony  by  Jesus  himself, 
on  his  trial,  to  both  his  Messiahship  and  his  Kingship. 

Testimony  to  his  Messiahship.  —  From  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  his  ministry,  when  he  entered  into  the  synagogue 
at  Nazareth,  and  read  and  expounded  the  prophecy 
respecting  himself,  J esus  claimed  to  be  the  Christ ;  but 
on  his  trial,  when  the  question  was  put  to  him  officially 
and  explicitly,  he  affirmed  it  with  the  solemnity  of  an 
oath.  Certainly,  when  the  high  priest  said  to  him,  “I 
adjure  thee  by  the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether 
thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,”  the  question  was 
officially  and  explicitly  before  him.  Certainly,  when 
he  replied,  “Thou  sayest,”  or,  as  it  is  in  St.  Mark,  “I 
am,”  “and  hereafter  thou  shalt  see  the  Son  of  Man 
sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power  and  coming  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven,”  he  did  it  with  the  solemnity  of  an 
oath. 

Credibility  of  his  testimony.  —  What  weight  then, 
according  to  the  laws  of  evidence,  ought  the  high  priest 
and  his  associates  to  have  given  to  this  assertion  ?  As 
in  all  such  cases,  that  would  depend  on  what  they 
knew  of  him  and  of  circumstances,  corroborative  or 
otherwise,  of  his  statements.  And  what  did  they  know? 
They  knew  the  testimony  of  John  the  Baptist  to  his 


870 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Messiahship.  They  knew  his  pure  and  beneficent  life, 
They  knew  his  unequalled  teaching.  They  knew  his 
stupendous  miracles,  especially  the  resurrection  of 
Lazarus  from  the  dead,  which  had  just  then  occurred. 
They  knew  there  was  nothing  in  his  previous  life, 
external  to  himself,  which  could  have  suggested  the 
claim  he  made.  He  had  lived  in  a  remote  and  disrepu¬ 
table  place ;  had  no  learning,  or  wealth,  or  influential 
friends,  and  his  chosen  followers  were  fishermen  and 
peasants.  And  if  such  a  thought  could  have  occurred 
to  an  impostor,  under  such  conditions,  and  such  a 
claim  have  been  made,  there  was  every  reason  why  he 
should  disclaim  it  at  that  hour.  For  making  it  he 
was  a  prisoner,  was  bound,  it  was  night,  every  friend 
had  forsaken  him,  he  was  surrounded  by  enemies,  and 
was  on  trial  for  his  life.  Then,  too,  it  was  contrary  to 
the  laws  of  thought,  to  suppose  that  an  impostor  thus 
situated,  or  the  craziest  enthusiast,  should  pass  at  once 
from  simple  affirmation  to  the  self  exaltation  of  saying 
that  he  should  sit  on  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  come 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven. 

But  while  nothing  could  have  been  more  opposed 
than  the  words  and  conduct  of  Jesus  to  the  laws  of 
thought,  and  to  probability,  on  the  supposition  of  impos¬ 
ture,  yet,  on  the  supposition  that  he  was  what  he 
claimed  to  be,  everything  was  majestic  and  in  perfect 
keeping.  We  say,  therefore,  that  no  testimony  was 
ever  taken  that  was  less  likely  to  be  perjured,  or  that 
was  deserving  of  greater  weight. 

Testimony  of  Jesus  to  his  Kingship.  Credibility  of  his 
testimony  as  it  comes  to  us.  —  But  if,  looking  simply  at 
the  evidence,  Jesus  could  not  have  been  adjudged  a 
perjurer  by  the  high  priest  and  his  associates,  much 
less,  can  he  be  so  judged  by  us,  for  we  have  evidence 
which  they  had  not.  We  have  his  testimony  before 
Pilate  to  his  Kingship,  with  the  same  unaccountable 


THE  ALTERNATIVE. 


371 


elements  if  he  were  an  impostor,  and  the  same  fitness 
if  he  were  really  the  Messiah.  We  have  his  infinite 
patience  and  meekness  under  insult.  We  have  the 
scene  of  the  crucifixion,  his  remembrance  of  his  mother, 
his  kingly  words  to  the  thief  on  the  cross,  his  prayer 
for  his  murderers,  and  the  commending  of  his  spirit 
into  the  hands  of  his  Father.  Then  the  overwhelming 
evidence  we  have  for  his  resurrection  is  also  evidence 
of  his  Messiahship,  and  we  have  also  the  great  fact  of 
Christianity  established  and  still  progressive. 

The  alternative.  —  Shall  we  then  say  that  all  this  was 
the  concomitant  and  outgrowth  of  perjury?  Here  was 
a  turning  point.  Had  Jesus  at  that  point  renounced,  or 
failed  to  assert  his  claim  to  be  Messiah  and  King,  there 
would  have  been  no  Christianity.  The  history  of  the 
world  would  have  been  changed.  The  alternative  be¬ 
fore  us  then  is,  either  to  say  that  Jesus  was  a  perjurer, 
and  that  but  for  his  perjury,  Christianity  would  not 
have  been,  or  to  accept  his  testimony,  and  to  say  that 
he  was  in  very  deed  what  he  affirmed  himself  to  be, 
“  The  Cheist,  the  Son  of  God.” 


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